January 10, 2012. Hard to believe we have gone 5 years without this subject ending up in our Technical Section. I hope we can get more comments/experiences from readers. Thanks to Jonnie Walker, Yankee #227, here we go. Minor edits.

Hi Ron,

I've finally gotten as far with Interlux as I can, and so now I'm ready to tell my story.

Last year I spent a lot of time effort and money sanding the decks of Madalyn Joy #227 and sprayed Interlux Brightsides in accordance with Interlux's help and instructions. I left her out for the winter and went to Florida...rebuilt the centerboard while there....and then went back to Tennessee.

When I got back I was devistated because the paint I had so carefully put on....was flaking off in three places!

I wasn't sure what I was going to do....so I sanded and prepped the topsides...and then stripped the bottom....and when I was finally at the point where I had to put paint on her....I decided I wanted all that flaking Brightsides off my boat!

So when contacting Interlux...they said oh, its flaking? Must be migration. What? Interlux makes yacht paint that can't get wet?

There is a long thread about this....on the Yacht Paint Forum which is Interlux's site....

http://www.yachtpaintforum.com/brightsides-failure_topic496.html

You can read it there....now....the "extended period of time" is quite insulting since they recommended Brightsides to be used as a bilge paint. Anyway, Interlux officially said that they do not have any product that is suitable for my Dolphin 24...so I would assume all Dolphin 24s are included.

After this.....I took a break. Morgan and I are cruising on our Cal this winter. We are in Clearwater, Florida now and on our way to the Keys. This spring when I get back I am going to strip the decks....Interlux products are not good enough for a Dolphin....

I have heard good things about HMG.....and also Imron.....any paint suggestions?

If gel coat wasn't so much sanding I'd re-gelcoat it.

-j

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Webmaster Note: Since I recall telling Jonnie that I used Interlux Brightsides to paint Marionette's topsides, and feel some remorse at his experience, I need to pass along my story. I bought Marionette in the winter of 1995 and her white gel coat was very faded. I really wanted to two part paint spray her (I really, really wanted to Awlgrip her - $$$!!) but was put off by no experience or equipment for spraying, by fear of screwing up, and fear of inhalation.

So, after several conversations with 'experts', I decided to brush paint Marionette's topsides using Brightsides. I first gave her a very thorough sanding, and filled any surface defects using their recommended filler. Then, after cleaning with their recommended thinner/cleaner I brushed on 2 coats of their recommended undercoat - lightly sanding between coats. Then, another light sanding and cleaning was followed by seven (7!) brushed on coats of Brightsides. I did not sand between these coats, applying the next coat usually within 8-12 hours. I think it was June - long days. I remember waiting for a weather window. It came out beautifully. I remember showing off how I could see my reflection in the topsides.

Marionette had Dynel covered plywood decks and solid mahogany cabin sides. After discussions with West Systems tech people I decided to strip off the Dynel from the decks, sand, then coat the plywood with epoxy, resand, and paint with a high quality alkyd Benjamin Moore house paint! No hassle, no problems - lasts about 5-6 years, no blisters or flaking. BTW, for all of my down below white surface painting, including the bilge areas below the sole, but not the sump area where the bilge pump resides (no paint), I use a high quality Benjamin & Moore alkyd house paint. It works and does not flake. Webmaster Note: May 7, 2012. This year I tried a new Benjamin & Moore latex based paint, designed, they say to match, performance wise, their high quality Alkyd - clean up much easier, we'll see...

About 5 years after I painted the topsides I began to notice several small blisters in the paint particularly on the port side low near the water. My boat is kept in a slip exposed to the SW sun on the portside. Interestingly it seemed worse up near the bow and under the port quarter. The starboard side seemed much better. I think that these are areas that are 'wetter' as the hull flares and little wavelets splash up - and - the sunlight/UV reflects off the water... (my theory). Anyway, I broke open the blisters (they were dry) and patched/filled using 3M's Marine Putty, and touched up for a couple of years with marginal results. Then around 2002/3, or so, I sanded the entire topsides, applied an undercoat, and 5 coats of Brightsides. Four or five years later, same results in same general locations, resulting a few years of patching and touchup. Then, in 2011, so she would not be embarrassed in a head to head meeting with Angel, Mike Horn's Yankee #73 up in Islesboro, Maine, I resanded the top sides, no undercoat and brushed on 3 coats of Brightsides.

The boat was on a mooring most of 2011 up in Maine, and, after one season looks good, although some of the fill and patch repairs show through a bit as a slight discoloration. I notice that I see more brush strokes and the occasional drip line - I think over the years I have just come to accept a less than perfect job. Also, here again, a theory, there are so many coats of Brightsides that if I do get a chip or blister, its pretty deep and takes 'a lot' of filler.

Another interesting bit - I intentionally apply my bottom paint to about 1" above the waterline. This to avoid scum on my green bootstripe - which is also Brightsides. And, a side benefit, I thought that this would psyche out racing competitors as they would think I was light :-) This, without my realizing it, probably helped me avoid much of the Brightside problem we are discussing.

Ps After writing the above I was taking my afternoon nap and could not sleep thinking about this matter. If I had this flaking problem after one season I'd be seriously pissed particularly if the reason given me was 'migration' or words like "it's getting wet". In the early years before launching in the Spring I gave my topsides a heavy coat of good quality paste boat wax and buffed with a power buffer, which may have helped protect the paint. In later years I sometimes used a liquid wax like Johnson's Boat Wax/Cleaner and buffed by hand. I'll bet this is not as good.

I have a few, very fine, hairline type vertical cracks in the paint. The cracks were there in the gel coat in the beginning but so thin nothing would fill the crack except paint. After a couple of coats of paint the cracks were no longer visible. However, after a year or two, they would eventually reappear but not get worse. I have aways thought these were 'stress cracks' due to hull flexing - I no longer worry about them as long as the hull finish passes the 5' test (can't see it unless closer)

Stay Tuned

January 12, 2012. Clinton Hodges is in the middle of his restoration project on Windswept too, Yankee #245 and has more than casual interest in this subject. There's more on Windswept too's page regarding his prep work and priming. Here is his email (edited)

I'm interested to know a little more about Johnny's preparation of the deck relative to the issues regarding Interlux Brightside paint. On Windswept toos' topsides I went (down) to the gel coat because I didn't know what the existing coats of paint consisted of and the gel coat was grazed anyway and from there followed Interlux' s instructions for applying their epoxy primer and Brightside.

So far the new paint has seen copious amounts of rainfall, snow, and cold temperatures as low as -15f. As you are aware urethane paints are really fickle so I made sure to never apply it unless it was 50f and humidity in the 30%-40%. Thinning was necessary but nothing like they do down in Florida. But we'll see what happens with the deck. I'm hoping there will be no issues and I thank Johnny for the heads up regarding standing water.  

I hope to continue on where I left off with the thru hulls and begin the tedious work of prepping the deck for paint and non-skid. I understand what Johnny is saying about the lack of information contained in the labeling instructions. Clearly, water shouldn't stand on Brightside for any length of time. Where on Johnny's Dolphin does such a condition exist? (see below) The toe rails that I removed from Windswept too were fabricated to drain water from the low lying areas of the deck, which is one area I can think of that water will not drain, but this is hardly enough of a reason not to use Brightside.  

In any event I intend to use Brightside on the deck but only after prepping the hull from the gel coat out and using epoxy primer. I wish Interlux would last longer and I think it will in a cooler environment but I don't have any unrealistic expectations either. My concern, like yours, is costs.

Take care and thanks for all the wonderful work you do for us and our Dolphins.

Regards, Clinton
Windswept too #245

Jonnie answers Clinton's questions: 1) Where did the flaking conditions exist? and 2) more info about prepping.

1) port and starboard, deck to cabin house juncture....below portlights, and in the cockpit on the step next to the companionway. Our hard dinghy is painted with Easypoxy and its not having issues after being towed 1300 miles. They said even their two part (systems) would migrate...

2) I sanded everything down to either gelcoat or fiberglass....some of the gelcoat had worn off and it was already bare fiberglass. Then I used Intelux's Prekote, which is the appropriate  primer, and did the solvent wash, with Interlux's 206 solvent, and did the wipe after sand coats with Interlux 333 brushing fluid, and thinned with Interlux's 216 special thinner. In other words, I did it by the book the way they said to.

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May 7, 2012. Marcia Green, Timesweep, Yankee #214, sent in the following email - with a lot of supplier technical feedback.

Dear Ron,

Thanks much for starting the discussion on hoses. Since "Timesweep" is out of the water I have not gotten around to replacing her cockpit drain hose. Currently I'm faced with a different problem.

A friend and I are in the process of sanding her in preparation for a complete repainting from top to bottom. She has been painted twice both times using a one-part paint. We used Pettit Easypoxy the first time around and the second we used Interlux Brightside. The sanding has been painful and tedious. On the hull we kept coming up with a paint ridge which definitely would show in the 3rd. painting effort so essentially we ended up taking a good part of the paint off.

We were less successful with the topsides and it is much rougher especially in the sections with 90 degree curves. Most sanders won't get into these tight areas so hand sanding is about the best we can do. There is a definite paint buildup in these areas. Because there is still paint residue on the topsides and less so on the hull we can't use a two-part paint. In most sections we found it necessary to use 60 and/or 80 grit paper following up with 120. Consequently some of the gel coat has been sanded off leaving very dark spots. The gel coat which remains is quite crazed and that definitely shows through the paint after 8 or so years. We have uncovered some areas with pinholes and of course there are inevitable cracks and holes etc. which need to be filled.

We purchased Interlux Surfacing Putty, which is one part, thinking it would be ideal to fill these areas but after carefully reading the directions discovered that all paint needs to be removed from the area to be filled. The Interlux tech confirmed this to be true and added that some of the chemicals in it would cause paint to lift. We also had planned to use this putty to fill areas, dings, etc. that might show up after our use of prekote primer as suggested by an individual who wrote up his experiences on the internet. So we asked what we could use that would be compatible with the paint and the tech suggested Interlux Watertight and Marinetex if the paint has been 'cured'.

I note that in your discussion of painting Marionette you mentioned repairing small areas using a filling compound and paint. What product did you use? See Below Do you have any recommendations as to what filling/fairing products would be compatible with a previously painted surface? Do you know of anyone who has used gel coat to fill pinholes and small gouges and that sort of thing? NO Do you think it could go over paint? I guess what I'm looking for is some sort of product that would work somewhat like spackle and/or drywall compound when doing interior painting. For patching dings, scratches, pinholes, crazing, above waterline I use 3M Marine putty - seems to work ok with the Brightside. Also, the undercoat primer applied a couple of times, sanded between coats fills/hides the crazing cracks. The best is as the tech guys say, sand down to glass, fill per their recommendations, prime/undercoat, etc, etc. but who has time for all that. The patching holds for 2-3 years then, patch again.

The nonskid hasn't been painted previously. We plan to do that this time around also and the tech told us that using the Interlux Surfacing Putty would work there. We also asked the tech if Brightside would be compatible with West System and were told, yes, if it were primed with Epoxy Primecote or InterProtect 2000E which would seal it. If it weren't sealed off "any remaining amine blush will work its way up and through the primer layer which in turn would react with the driers in Brightside and prevent proper curing." Perhaps this info would be useful for others faced with a similar painting project.

Thanks,

Marcia

Checking on the 3M Marine Putty link above, I found that this product is now obsolete! Fortunately, I still have a nearly full tube. This is apparently replaced by http://3mcollision.com/products/fillers-and-glaze/putty/3m-acryl-marine-putty-white-05095.html. Looks the same, smaller tube.

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