Bubbling Brightsides

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:19 pm

I'm back in the shed. While taking a few things off the boat for the winter, I noticed a bunch of tiny little blisters in the paint on the toe rail. So I looked in a few other spots. blisters blisters everywhere, ranging in size from a pinprick to 1/8".

I punctured one of the largest ones with a razor, and squeezed out some clear liquid.

What's the deal here? I suppose it's possible that these blisters developed over the course of the summer and went unnoticed, but I really doubt it. They seem to have developed over the past week after haulout.

That's too wierd. She's been in the well-ventilated shed all the while. We haven't had a frost yet. She's no longer subject to direct sunlight, so I'd think that the temperature swings are less severe now than they were prior to haulout.

I'm not completely heartbroken. I was planning on repainting the cabin sides sometime in the next couple of years anyway. Still..... frustrating.

Post by **Tim** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:39 am

It sounds like, for whatever reason, there is moisture beneath your paint that is causing these bubbles. I agree that it seems weird that they have only recently developed, and don't have a helpful answer for that.

Perhaps you have a high moisture issue inside your shed, much like the one that caused me headaches last fall when I tried to paint my mast outdoors? (When I covered the mast with a plastic tent, frost still formed on the underside of the plastic and the mast itself, apparently from moisture from the ground beneath. Of course this ruined the fresh paint.)
http://www.triton381.com/projects/maint ... paint1.htm

Could a similar phenomenon be happening inside your shed? You have a dirt floor too. It doesn't necessarily account for why the moisture is beneath the paint, but could the environmental conditions be such as to draw the moisture out in this way, perhaps?

My voice probably seems muffled here, as I have no clue what I'm talking about...just swagging.

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:31 am

Tim- I think you are real close to the mark, if not on it. I can't think of anything else that would cause that. Brightsides isn't one of my favorite paints and we've had troubles with it in a moist environment.

I've also had other paints get tiny bubbles (not Don Ho style) when they got moisture on them- the bubbles went away when the area dried.

Personally I'll not be using Brightsides anymore. I dislike it that much. Sadly, I still haven't found a good alternative.

Post by **Tim** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:59 am

Charlie's post reminded me that I had a bubbling problem with Brightsides also.

Although most of my boat is painted with Awlgrip, I painted the original fiberglass sliding companionway hatch with white Brightsides. It looked excellent when fresh.

However, I installed it on the boat, and then later washed the decks of the boat (this is going way back, folks, to 2001). The water that beaded up on the companionway hatch, which I left to dry naturally, actually caused hundreds of tiny bubbles in the surface--pockmarks that remain today. It wasn't (and isn't) important enough to warrant a redo at the time.

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:25 pm

How about another swag? Could fiberglass "sweat" going from a very moist to a much dryer environment?

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:23 am

Julia has reminded me that the topsides (also brightsides) have had similar blisters shrink and swell with the seasons.

For whatever that's worth.

Harry James · Post by **Harry James** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:37 am

Figment

Could you go through your painting steps, what you used for priming, sanding, wiping how many coats etc.

Thanks

HJ

Post by **CapnK** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:06 am

More relevant info of the anecdotal type:

Katie Marie's hull and cabin trunk are painted with something, I'm not sure what the product is. We don't have water hookups, so I drag the hose onboard from the dock and leave it alongside the cockpit (I'm a KISS man through and through :) ). The hose leaks slighlty, and earlier this summer I noticed bubbles in the hull paint where the small amount of leaking water drained off the transom. I moved the hose so that it leaked straight into the water, and after a few days the transom bubbles went away. I idly wondered why it would do that, but as the problem self-resolved almost, I didn't give it much thought.

Then about 3 weeks ago, we had several days of record rainfall. As much as 16" in a day. So though I was surprised momentarily to see bubbles had formed all over the cabin trunk, I figured it was because of the days of higher humidity, even thought the trunk is under a tarp and out of direct rainfall. These bubbles went away after a couple days of dry.

Whatever the reason, paint does seem to spontaneously bubble with the introduction of high humidity, either atmospheric or through direct contact.

I think I have a can of the paint product used here onboard (actually 2 similar cans, one w/no label). I'll dig it out after this Wilma rain stops and see what it is.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:20 pm

We did have several days of heavy rain just prior to haulout, but she's been in the shed since (VERY well ventilated at both ends since a knife-wielding moment of fury last June) and the bubbles haven't yet subsided. hmph.

Much of this painting happened in a flurry of last-minute prelaunch activity in July. This is what I remember of the cabinsides painting, but I may be omitting or confusing a detail or two.
Sanded 80grit ad nauseum, along with everything else on the boat.
Acetone wipe.
Sanded 120grit
Acetone wipe.
Interlux Pre-Kote primer brushed on.
Sanded 120grit.
More Pre-Kote primer.
Sanded 220 grit.
Acetone wipe.
1st coat Brightsides, slightly thinned with interlux 333.
Acetone wipe.
light 320grit sanding.
Acetone wipe.
2nd coat brightsides, cut 3:1 with flattening agent, slightly thinned with 333. This did not come out well.
Moderate 320 grit sanding
acetone wipe
3rd coat brightsides, cut 3:1 with flattening agent, more heavily thinned with 333.

The toerails were painted with the deck. I don't think I used any flattening agent on the deck, but otherwise the process was probably the same.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:08 pm

VERY well ventilated at both ends since a knife-wielding moment of fury last June

Ah... yeah... You know Mike, I am going to be pretty busy this winter... I don't think I will be able to come down for a visit after all... sorry man...

-Britton

Harry James · Post by **Harry James** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:03 pm

Interlux Pre-Kote primer brushed on.
Sanded 120grit.
More Pre-Kote primer.

On another online group I particpate in where Brightsides is well thought of, it was mentioned that the Pre Kote will soak up water and it needs to be sanded down till you can see through it. Did you sand it all the way back down and could that be your problem??

Sounds like you did everything else perfectly.

HJ

Post by **Tim** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:02 am

Harry James wrote:...it was mentioned that the Pre Kote will soak up water and it needs to be sanded down till you can see through it...

My own experience with Pre-Kote is that any normal sanding after application will bring it down to this translucent appearance.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:35 am

hmmmmm, you could be onto something there, Harry.
I sanded the first coat of pre-kote down to translucency or even transparency. The second coat, however, I just "scuffed up" a bit.

Though I'm actually not certain that I used prekote on the toerails. I know I didn't use it on the decks.

I had a thought on the drive in this morning. I think I need to look the whole boat over and see if there is a correlation between the bubbly areas and the areas that had later-application fairing compound. This may simply be another pesky amine blush issue. A shot in the dark, but any shot's worth taking.