Painting my Starcraft and Interlux Brightside...SOS!

[Catfishmonkey]

Ok. So i am just about going to paint my starcraft; changing the topside color from yellow to red. The paint on the bow is a little more worn than the paint on the stern. There are some spots/scratch marks on the bow which, when looking really close, you can see some aluminum showing. Was going to buy a quart of Brightside, which is expensive on its own. But I received different opinions about whether I need primer or not, and whether, I need zinc chromate primer underneath that primer. Do I need this stuff, and if so, do I need to use the special Interlux versions of them? Could I just use a rustoleum primer, and then apply the brightside, because the Interlux stuff is really expensive. Also do i need their special thinner (333) or will mineral spirits work just as well...or do I even need thinner at all with this stuff?

Thanks