altering a wetsuit

[timetraveler]

I have a front-zipper Evo 3mm neoprene wetsuit jacket that I like a lot, except for one thing. The collar is loose and allows cold water to slosh in and out down my back. I'd like to make the collar a little tighter. Can I just cut out a V shaped piece (about 3/4 inch at the top) and glue it back together with Aquaseal? Would I also have to sew it or put a patch over it?

Has anyone tried such a thing before? How did it work out? I'd hate to ruin my wetsuit two days before leaving for a dive trip

 

[knowone]

Neoprene cement

 

[melanie.]

Neoprene cement would hold better.

My buddy had the opposite problem, collar was too restrictive. He cut it, cemented in another piece to fit end to end (not overlapped), and I sewed the inside and outside seam of it (without going through the neoprene). Put another layer of cement on top to protect the stitching and voila.

So far no problems. Now I don't see you necessarily having to do all those steps for a quick job.. but you can be pretty guaranteed that the work we did isn't going to fail after 10 dives. Just take care that when you are cutting you are measuring first, or if need be cutting a bit, trying it on, cutting some more etc.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I used to make my own wetsuits for kayaking (they did not used to be commercially available to us), and we simply cut the neoprene*, coated both raw edges, and then butt-joined them. That worked fine.

*Believe it or not we actually just went and bought Simplicity type patterns from the sewing store and used those to make booties, pogies (mitts), vests, shorts, and etc.

We used black neoprene cement (comes in can with brush built into lid), and then coated the raw/cut edges. We'd coat them 2 (or 3?) times, let each coat tack up, and then after the final coat tacked up (not when it's gooey!), we would firmly press the edges together and hold them briefly. Then... voila, good to go. We even installed the zippers by just cementing them in place (no sewing).

This was with nylon-1 (one fabric side, one skin side) neoprene of about 3mm (although it came in inches back then).

Blue Sparkle

 

[ajduplessis]

AquaSeal

 

[knowone]

You could refrain from posting completely incorrect and potentially damaging and costly to other peoples stuff, BS information in an ignorant attempt to impress yourself or p15s me off because I hauled you up on some other naive rubbish you posted weeks ago

 

[Rhone Man]

The other thing you could do is just wear a hood with a neck. If the hood bothers you, cut it off, and just wear the neck. Think of it as a "neoprene scarf".

 

[ajduplessis]

Sheep ish!

 

[timetraveler]

I got some neoprene cement and just finished altering my wetsuit. It was almost too easy. It seems solid. I'll know on Monday. If the alteration doesn't solve the problem, then I'll go with a hood. Thank you all for your advice.