TOPIC: Crazing ??

hi, new to all of this and a novice. I'm trying to restore a 1962 Swiss6 "Comet" 16 ft.
The paint on the bottom (it's rather flat by design) shows signs of small fissure "spider web" cracking. Not significantly terrible. I've been told that sanding and layering between coats is the way to go, however the sides coming up from the bottom are in perfect presentable shape. Is there a way to just touch up the bottom with a new coat of marine white paint, without having to sand the old off completely. Will it seal the fissure cracks, and what to do with the gel coat "shine". Would it have to be buffed, wet sanded, or can you just paint, and then gloss coat ? Any info is appreciated..

We are mixing terms here. I'm 99.9% certain the boat is finished with Gelcoat and not paint. The spider cracking is a common occurence of old gelcoat finishes. You can either sand them completely out and recoat with new gelcoat or use a dremel tool to v-groove out each vein of the cracks and then fill with a gelcoat paste. Depending on how extensive the they are will determine the best method to use. Or You could fill them with a fiberglass paste filler and then Paint the hull with the paint of your choosing.

Thank You for the response.
Sorry yes it is gel coat.
The process of V ing the crazing would be futile, as it is a bit too involved, again only where it sat in water, below that line, is where it needs redoing.
Is the easiest method to sand even lightly, and prime / paint again ?
The gel coat. Is it a mix or is it a standalone paint ?
I know without sanding and buffing out it would be a shorter lifespan of the new gel coat, but I don't have the necessary tools or patience to do a huge fix ?
Any info appreciated and thank you so much again !
Cheers, Bruce...

bruce, unfortunately there is no easy fix to spider cracks in gelcoat. as flamingo said they must be v-grooved out, properly filled and finished. this is the normal breakdown of gelcoat on old boats. its not an easy process if you have no hands on experience. its messy and you should wear a ventilator. when i had mine done, all looked great, then the first big wake i crossed/jumped, guess what , some of the cracks re-appared. the only way imo to avoid this from happening again is to remove all the old gelcoat..then re-finish. good luck, ron :

Thank You guys again.
Question.
If I run this boat the way it is, will water permeate through the cracks into the actual fiberglass ?
Is it safe to run in the water without waterlogging ?

Fiberglass in itself is waterproof, to an extent. The Gelcoat, is the finish coat. Gelcoat is a Resin based product just like the resin based fiberglass. Both of them will over a VERY VERY long time absorb miniscule amounts of water. Nothing that you should be concerned with. Only if the fiberglass fractures exposing the glass fibers is there going to be an issue. The spider cracking is more cosmetic than anything. It probably will, over time lead to the gelcoat eventually totally failing and falling off but your boat will NOT leak or have any other structural issues.

Spot on response once again. You wouldn't want to leave the boat in the water for any extended period of time, but probably would not have any significant issue of taking on water if trailered in and out for each use IMHO.

Spider cracking will probably not begin failing and falling off during your lifetime. If it does, it will most likely be so far into the future that you will no longer own the boat or just won't give a damn. I say leave it alone and go boating.

Thank You all for your advise.
The cracking is too involved to v drill and sanding buffing would take weeks. Even though it's only worse on the waterline, I read it can be primed light sanded and gel painted over. Eventually I'm going to sell the boat so the quickest fix seems to be the way to go. If it shows through or cracks over the new paint, I figure to just paint over again before selling. Going to try and enjoy a season or two before selling it. The new owner can decide then if they want to re do it. Hopefully I can sell it for what I have into it. Apparently there are not too many Swiss 6's around anymore. I also have a question on the engine. The exhaust port shoots out a lot of steam and no steady stream. I've been told the motor was redone but have not had it out in the open water. Could the water pump possibly be shot ? Otherwise the engine does run. Just don't want to blow the rest of the engine..
Thanks for any input.
Cheers,
Bruce

BABSAX,

ImVho, there are two issues:
1. STEAMING, which should be immediately addressed by replacing the water pump impellor
and
2. CRAZING, which can be sanded & filled with one of the "self-leveling" epoxy marine paints, since you don't plan to keep the boat for a long time.

BEST WISHES, satx

If you have decent hot water coming out of the relief port on the rear of the motor during use,some steam is normal.The amount of water and steam coming out will vary depending on the temp of engine (thermostat opening),lake water temp. As for the crazing as long as none of it is scaling off, you can watersand and buff it to make it shine. If it's peeling off,I'd leave it alone if your going to sell it anyway. Mark S is right on about leaving it in the drink too long. I wouldn't because I saw mine get what I guess was marine growth in the tiny hairline cracks on my hull and pimple up the surface of the hull causing my hull on my boat to fell like medium grit sandpaper.I watersanded it down,buffed it and got it smooth again. No more leaving it in the water all week . I also had a Crestliner that the hull was doing just like yours and I watersanded it with some fine paper and buffed it with great results ending up with a good shine.