Beloved Oxycheck #30 wing of 20 years slowly leaks air from seam. Can she be saved?

[MannyDib2]

Wondering if it could be patched with Aquaseal or similar.
If it was an accidental puncture I'd just fix it, but this seems like its from age (20+ years old) which makes me think there's like more due to go wrong soon.

ea

 

[Still Kicking]

If you really love it, Aquaseal the heck out of it. Even if it leaks slightly it's not a huge deal. A few bubbles is not going to affect buoyancy in any meaningful way.

Sooner or later you will need a replacement though.

 

[lexvil]

First buy a new wing, DGX 30 is a steal, once you have the new wing take a good look at this one and ask yourself why you would bother trying to patch it up when you already have a new one.

 

[MannyDib2]

First buy a new wing, DGX 30 is a steal, once you have the new wing take a good look at this one and ask yourself why you would bother trying to patch it up when you already have a new one.

Ya, I was planning on getting that wing since its well regarded and sells at a great price.
I figured I'd keep the Oxy and the plate its on to monkey dive from shore with an al40

 

[-JD-]

Maybe just order a replacement inner bladder and pop it in?

 

[runsongas]

@-JD- this looks old enough it might not have the replaceable bladder

if its the seam, aquaseal is only a temporary fix

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Maybe just order a replacement inner bladder and pop it in?

That’s an old Razor wing and they were single walled.
OP, Aquaseal the crap out if it and dive it until it’s completely dead, then just as @lexvil said get a DGX 30 donut wing. They supposedly are an Oxycheq Mach 5 wing in disguise.

 

[eelnoraa]

Yes as other said. This is a one layer wing. The seam is some sort of RF weld?? Once degrade no simple way to fix. Aquaseal is temporary fix only. You will need to replace it. 20year is a good long run tho. I would like to think of oxy is still in business, they may do something about it, such as offer a discount for new wing?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Yes as other said. This is a one layer wing. The seam is some sort of RF weld?? Once degrade no simple way to fix. Aquaseal is temporary fix only. You will need to replace it. 20year is a good long run tho. I would like to think of oxy is still in business, they may do something about it, such as offer a discount for new wing?

Yes the wing seams were RF welded on the outside then the inside was coated with a urethane that formed a membrane to make it air tight. When that urethane finally breaks down years later the wing becomes useless.
Oxy is still in business but I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting anything from them for a 20 yo obsolete wing. But you never know.

 

[MannyDib2]

I'm wondering now if this was self inflicted rather than age related.
I had accidentaly cross-threading the wing's opv, so I replaced it with the opv from an old faded lift bag I had.
I tested it out and it seemed to release later than the old one did (ie: with more pressure), so maybe that caused the damage.

Either way, I got the DGX wing (it seems to be well loved on this board).
I will try and repair the Oxycheq and use it for a dedicated AL 80 rig