Pettit vs Interlux for the DIY'r

My 1982 Taiwanese trawler needs a fresh new look. I will be doing it myself as I have the technique, time and don't want the painting to cost more than the boat is worth, lol.
I have been doing lots of reading on the 2 options. I like the Pettit top side paints as they also have the EZ Faire, EZ Prime and compatible caulks and sealants for my toe rails. Lots of options here.
How does Interlux Brightside's compare with the DIY'rs ?
I want a one part paint.
I am also thinking of painting my wooden toe rails as they are a pain to varnish year over year. I like the teak look so I am looking for a brown, but I do not see any brown Marine paints, lol.

I've used Brightside but not the Pettit equivalent. I'd say Brightside is generally pretty easy to work with. It levels out brush marks nicely, comes out shiny, etc. It's a thin paint, so make sure not to put too much on or you may get drips.

I have used Briteside for many applications, teak rails, bathroom cabinets in our house and interior paneling in a previous boat. It is pretty easy to work with. For the exterior teak on our last boat I sanded the wood to completely bare. Then wipe with acetone and immediately primed 2 coats with PreKote primer, I think. Then 3 coats of Brightside. Sanded in between each coat per Interlux’s recommended procedure. It looked great and really made the boat look much better. Some of it had been on the boat 4 years when we sold the boat and still looked like new. It was on our President. We used white Briteside.

I have used both Pettit and Interlux. If it’s one part then color dictates which brand. When it comes to two part I always go with Interlux. Not because it is better than Pettit but because I am more familiar with the Interlux requirements to get a good coating. Some day the color I need will only come from Pettit and then I will be equally as good with Pettit.

My major boat project for summer of 2020 was a hull paint job. I hated that yellow mustache that much.
I had previously painted the hull on a 30' sailboat, that had red gelcoat and after 6 0r 7 years had faded and gone chalky. I used Petit Ezypoxy and got a nice shiny outcome. Unfortunately that paint also faded badly during the next 4 or 5 years. It was ugly enough that I ground it off and painted with Interlux 2 part polyurethane. I sold the boat 1/2 way through that paint job, but finished the work before passing the boat on to its new owners. 20 years later I saw it and other than where it had a fender rub that had worn through to the old gelcoat, it still had a good shine and good colour.
More recently I had used Brightside on a portion of the inside of the bulwarks on my present boat. It was better than not painting, but not a fabulous finish, both immediately after painting and about 10 years later, when I was deciding which paint to use for the job on the hull.
I used Petit Ezypoxy again, but this time white. Now 3 seasons in, it looks great. Like you, I am aware of the full value of my boat and though a $50k paint job would look perfect, I was not prepared to pay for "perfect". The paint I used cost $70 Cdn / US qt. One qt did a whole side. Prep was a little body filler for major gouges, a good cleaning with Lysol toilet bowl cleaner for the moustache, light sanding in a few places. I used a brush for the "tipping", though I didn't bother with the "roll" part.
It turned out so well that I went on and did the insides of the bulwarks, including re-doing the piece done 10 years ago with Brightside. The result was encouraging enough I kept going and the only parts I didn't get to are the seat assemblies on the flybridge. Those are covered most of the time with the cushions, so won't rise to the top of the to-do list for a while yet.
$280 for paint, a couple of brushes, a couple of l of thinner, mostly used for brush cleaning, though the paint did need a little thinning when getting near the bottom of each can.
In the result I have about a 4' paint job under most conditions. Occasionally at sunset, the sun will pick out some places that are only a 20' job, but then that is all I was aiming for.
I get more compliments on my "beautiful boat" now than ever before.
No more Mustache!

I doubt there is any real difference between Petit and Interlux. Either should work as well as you need.

As for the teak rails, I think you should leave your options open till you see the results of the repaint. In my case, I haven't ever gone away from the varnished brightwork, but the year I repainted I didn't get to it enough, the next year we had a "heat dome", a full week of 100° weather that caused bubbles on those very rails, so this year, I had no choice but to deal with the damaged areas. Though the time taken is definitely excessive, I rationalize it by recalling that I have had this boat 28 years (29 summers) and haven't had to take the varnish back to bare wood in any great amount until this year, so on average it doesn't really take that much time. The improvement in appearance is dramatic. Though fresh varnish always looks good, when the grain shows through when there are only new coats, at least 4, so much better than where there have been 30 years of recoating and the grain doesn't show nearly as well.
I met the previous owner while he was working on a major varnish re-do in 1990, so I know when it was last taken down to the wood. Lucky for me he was a Surgeon, so his OCD was allowed that outlet.

alexseal all the way

You want to know how to paint. Go to Boatworks today. Andy will show you. He sure helped me. I painted the hull of my 42 sf seafoam green. Took a little while to get it right but wow. Good stuff. It was roll and tip but I only rolled it. I hear now they have an additive that makes it roll only and is more dyi friendly. Check it out. He has one video with a green sf on the video caption. Its my old boat.

If I were going to do major painting myself I would use the Alexseal with the roll only additive.

Comodave said:

If I were going to do major painting myself I would use the Alexseal with the roll only additive.

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This is pretty new but I see all the YouTubers using Axelseal. I haven’t painted anything for a while and I haven’t seen any 15 year old Axelseal so I don’t know what to say about it other than it looks like a very good DIY product.

If your going to use Interlux, why not the Perfection over the Brightside? I've used both. The Perfection will last twice as long. With all the prep that is required, I will take the longer lasting paint every time. I was initially hung up with the thought of tipping, but you don't need any finesse with the brush (I could see my brush strokes) as the paint will slowly turn into a mirror finish. The brush is just used to get rid of any air bubbles. It's hard to keep moving with the rolling when your looking back at your brush strokes, but it will blend away. I don't have any experience with Alexseal.

Brightside and Easypoxy are close enough that I don't think there's a real difference. I've used both. But keep in mind any one part paint is temporary. They all fade and are fairly soft so they get gouged up easier. The two packs have much better gloss and color retention and are extremely hard, they'll last ten times as long. The major expense in any paint job is surface prep and it doesn't matter what kind of paint you're using, the prep is about the same. Spending $200 for two part vs $100 for one part really doesn't amount to anything. So if you're doing the work yourself I think it's worthwhile to use the better paint. Paying a pro to do it? Yea that can be more than an old boat's worth.

I used the Interlux primer and brightside. I also used the interlux thinner. The solvent evaporates quickly on a hot day. I used roll and tip with best quality brushes. I was satisfied with results but at the right angle I can spot lines, runs, etc. so clearly a learning curve. Very easy process and I would use it again. And I second the comment about prep. Take the time to go through the grits.

I think I would have better results using HVLP gun but I would have to tent the boat. Yard takes a dim view of spray coating neighbors boats.

I have sprayed Brightside with HVLP with excellent results. It is pretty easy to do. But when I sprayed the salon on a previous boat I had to use forced air respiration. When I was spraying some bathroom cabinets in the garage with all the doors open I just used a half face respirator. I just use cheap chip brushes when rolling and tipping Brightside. Lots cheaper than a China bristle or badger bristle brushes and no cleanup needed.

Painted entire hull 15 or so years ago with 2-part Interlux. Found if thinned 16-18 % we could roll with foam roller ‘hot dog’ without tipping. 2 person job & always ready to discard roller cover as it starts to ‘swell’!!
I have also used the 1 part (Brightsides) and it has let me down every time!! It tends to throw bubbles during application; (even with tipping thin coats or rolling with thinner as per mfg…) and most recently I rebuilt my mast step. Figured ‘how bad could it be’?
I found out when weeks later bubbles popped up ruining the finish! (I had already painted straight from the can; strokes. Sanded, 2nd coat; almost as many stroke marks. Sanded & thinned (per mfg…) & painted with foam brush. Seemed level but thinner flashed causing difficulty blending stroke to stroke!! Finally used (better) foam brush and laid down a smooth coat ( working very fast!!) and gave 2 days between sanding & re-coats. Looked good until bubbles began appearing weeks later.
I should have used Rustoleum. At least it isn’t so damn finicky!!!!
Watched an Alexseal job go on with roll & tip in the yard this summer. It beat the pants off my ‘perfection’ 2 part job on the ability to sand & repair. I have done repairs on my hull with very difficult time trying to avoid lumps when overcoating onto old surface (as paint coating is very very thin!!) So my next hull job will be ‘featherable’ 2-part paint!!
Your mileage may vary

TJM said:

My 1982 Taiwanese trawler needs a fresh new look. I will be doing it myself as I have the technique, time and don't want the painting to cost more than the boat is worth, lol.
I have been doing lots of reading on the 2 options. I like the Pettit top side paints as they also have the EZ Faire, EZ Prime and compatible caulks and sealants for my toe rails. Lots of options here.
How does Interlux Brightside's compare with the DIY'rs ?
I want a one part paint.
I am also thinking of painting my wooden toe rails as they are a pain to varnish year over year. I like the teak look so I am looking for a brown, but I do not see any brown Marine paints, lol.

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Call George Kirby up in Mass. Ask for a sample of "Dado Brown" It's my go to for mahogany on my builds.

On the other hand, for single part paints I use B Moore Superspec urethane alkyd. Compare the msds to Petit and Interlux singles- no real difference except price.

I have used various epoxy brands resin, fillers, fairing, fillet compounds with many paints ,no issue.

Actually with most any two part paint in white or off white you can get away without tipping. Ends up with a very slight orange peel texture like a not quite perfect spray job. Doesn't work with darker colors though. Years ago I did a boat with white Interthane Plus, the predecessor of Perfection. Came out great with no tipping. Biggest advantage was I didn't need scaffolding to reach the ten foot high hull, just used a roller on an eight foot stick.
When tipping, if you don't have the thinner/reducer ratio just right or a breeze causing the paint to set too quickly, or can't do a continuous full length application you can get brush marks that look worse than if you just rolled. The no tip additive for Alexseal just allows you to not tip in any color.

I found with Brightside is that all coats need to be thinned about 20% and a foam roller. When rolling there will be a ton of bubbles. It needs to be rolled very thin, way more than any paint. Then go back and do the same section without adding paint to the roller. If you time it right the bubbles dissappear and the finish really shines. Let dry 24 hrs and use 300+ grit very light sanding before the next coat followed by a tack rag or cloth with thinner.
A lot of time but it comes out nice. Then every year or two 320 grit and another coat.
I will probably try the Axelseal two part next spring because the Brightsides and docks don't get along very well.

Greg QS said:

You want to know how to paint. Go to Boatworks today. Andy will show you. He sure helped me. I painted the hull of my 42 sf seafoam green. Took a little while to get it right but wow. Good stuff. It was roll and tip but I only rolled it. I hear now they have an additive that makes it roll only and is more dyi friendly. Check it out. He has one video with a green sf on the video caption. Its my old boat.

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I was going suggest Andy. I saw his demonstration of the roll only and it looked pretty incredible.

A reputable boat builder advised using Alex seal for a DYI. Good finish with a roller. Also, consider Cetol for toe rails.

There’s a new 31 ft Steiger craft a few slips over from mine,and the bottom paint on this boat is the best I’ve ever seen,come to find out it is Pettit,and in the spring when I haul out to do bottom 100% guaranteed will be using Pettit vivid bottom paint,have been using micron 66 but never again

Brightside!

Just used Brightside Hatteras White to do my window frames on a GB32, Sanded vigorously by hand with 80, then 100 and wiped down with lacquer thinner because of the bare teak here and there. Taped it off, put on three thin coats with a good fake bristle brush sanding ever so lightly between coats. Looks factory new. I also use Pettit paint and see no significant difference between the two. My paint choice is based on color choices. There are no bad big-name paints. If you have a friend who works in a paint shop, go there with white and they can frequently do a custom colorant job for you.

Prep is definitely 90%. Hear it all the time and it's true.
BYW, if you are painting over crazed gelcoat like mine was, sand down as far as you can go. Even through the gelcoat if you have to. Then I went through the grits to 320 and cleaned with Total Boat prep/dewaxer. Next step was Low V epoxy rolled very thin 2 coats. (https://epoxyproducts.com/fav1_lowv.html)
Then sand 320 , wipe down and apply 2 part epoxy primecote (Interlux) again very thin one or two coats. 320 sand and clean, and topcoat of your choice. The crazing and checking didn't come through after 3 years and I think it's gone for good.
Didn't finish with an epoxy finish coat because I read it was harder to repair than 1 part. Don't know if that's true. Anybody? Color is plain Interlux white.

MVDarlin said:

A reputable boat builder advised using Alex seal for a DYI. Good finish with a roller. Also, consider Cetol for toe rails.

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The Cetol is a great product. It stands up very well. I just wish it had more of a varnish look. The tint is a bit "orange" but that doesn't stop me from using it.

ronobrien said:

The Cetol is a great product. It stands up very well. I just wish it had more of a varnish look. The tint is a bit "orange" but that doesn't stop me from using it.

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If you don't like the orange of the original Cetol, try some of the newer versions. The natural teak version still has a bit of a funky tint, but it's not too noticeable unless you put on a lot of coats. A couple coats of that with a few of the clear gloss Cetol on top looks pretty good (the natural teak stuff is matte if used on its own). It won't have the "under glass" look of a really good varnish job though.