Care of latex seals - KY jelly ?

[rick00001967]

hi all. i bought a used drysuit this week with latex seals. the neck and the wrists were still in great shape. they also felt very soft and almost slippery. i wanted to know how the previous owner kept them in such good condition. i was expecting him to maybe tell me he used some kind of water based silicone spray. but apparently he uses KY jelly. i know it is also a water based product but would never have thought of using this. does anyone have any experience with using this ? any pros or cons ? these were probably the best feeling seals i have seen. looked / felt better than some new ones.

 

[ajduplessis]

I am sure anal lube will also work, but I prefer talc for latex care. Gels and jellies attract dirt and dust

 

[Searcaigh]

+1 for talc during storage

I do use Durex lube on the seals for donning the suit.

 

[Hickdive]

Talc for storage, water (not silicone) based lubricant for donning. Sexual lubricants are intended to work with latex without degrading it and so work very well, however they tend to be supplied in small and expensive amounts. There are some diving-specific brands, such as O'Three's Jollop, which are cheaper but cheapest of all is veterinary lubricant like Ritchey Superlube.

 

[Searcaigh]

 

[Griffo]

Talc for storage, water (not silicone) based lubricant for donning. Sexual lubricants are intended to work with latex without degrading it and so work very well, however they tend to be supplied in small and expensive amounts. There are some diving-specific brands, such as O'Three's Jollop, which are cheaper but cheapest of all is veterinary lubricant like Ritchey Superlube.

You can get bulk KY pretty cheap. A local liveaboard uses it so I looked it up.

 

[Dominik_E]

I use "Seal Saver".

 

[Rred]

Talc used to be all we had. It is inert, cheap, stable, and it works very simply by clogging (sealing) the pores in the surface and preventing oxidation of the latex. Not to be confused with corn starch or the various adulterated "flavors" of powders.

 

[JackD342]

I use "Seal Saver".

McNetts (now Gear Aid) stopped making Seal Saver more than a few years ago, at least in the US.
They suggest UV Tech Protectant & Conditioner as the replacement item.

 

[Rooster59]

You can get bulk KY pretty cheap. A local liveaboard uses it so I looked it up.

That must be an awesome liveaboard