Fix a wetsuit before it gets worse?

[tuner fish]

Couldn't find anything on this subject. My Henderson 7mil is starting to tear. The neoprene just above the knee pads has torn. The "fabric" on the outside is barely hanging on. Both tears are new and just an inch or so long. Any way to repair this? How about a way to prevent further tearing?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

wetsuit glue.. NOT aquaseal

 

[rye_a]

Oops...why not aquaseal? I patched a small tear in my wetsuit with it and it has worked fine for me.

 

[D_B]

I used McNett Aquseal to patch a pretty large tear that went all the way through to the inner nylon layer, it was horizontal just below the zipper.
Directions ... http://mcnett.baron-co.com/page.cfm?pageID=496

I coated the area first with Cotol 240 ... http://mcnett.baron-co.com/page.cfm?pageID=544 ... and when applying the wetsuit glue I mixed it into the Cotol covered repair area thoroughly with a stiff brush (like an acid brush) and it
then covered the area with a piece of clear packing tape, inside and out untill dry
This has held up with no further tearing for a couple of years and many dives since , and its in a area that gets stretched very hard when I done my suit

 

[redacted]

These are your choices. Adhesives The seal cement is more stretchy and flexible and usually more suitable for wetsuit repair where it needs to stretch. Aquaseal is more ridged with little stretch so it is more suitable for materials that do not need to stretch like a BCD or dry suit. That said, the area around a knee pad or zipper on a wetsuit does not have much stretch so you could probably get away with either. I used seal cement on my wetsuit, including cuts around the border of the knee pads with good results.

 

[drbill]

I always wait too long to patch my wetsuits as you can see from my infamous "holy wetsuit:"

 

[dumpsterDiver]

... That said, the area around a knee pad or zipper on a wetsuit does not have much stretch so you could probably get away with either. I used seal cement on my wetsuit, including cuts around the border of the knee pads with good results.

I disagree, the area at the edge of a knee pad is probably one of the most stressed portions of a wetsuit. Even without a knee pad the knee area gets stress when the leg is bent. When a knee pad is added, it reduces the local flexibility and concentrates the stress along the edges of the knee pad. Tears in this area almost always occur on the top side of the knee pad.

for extensive tearing, I've even had to remove the old knee pad and add a new larger one which spans the ripped areas.

In any regard, it is to your advantage to immediately glue any rips or tears. It is also extremely helpful to put a dab of glue at a location on each sewn seam where the thread ends. "TACKING DOWN" the loose thread before it unravels can make a big difference in the longevity of a suit.

Aquaseal is fine to seal up relatively small puncture holes, however in areas that receive a lot of stretching, wetsuit glue is better.

 

[tuner fish]

I disagree, the area at the edge of a knee pad is probably one of the most stressed portions of a wetsuit.

I should point out, the location of the tear is where I generally "grap hold and yank" everytime I don the suit. In addition, I'm often bent at the knee while using the suit.

Thanks to all for the great advice.

 

[robint]

how old is the suit and what brand?
a good quality suit starts to lose its warmth and flexibility after about 3yrs and/or 100 dives. Especially with thicker suits like a 7mm, the bubbles start to compress and not return to original size after a time. It may be time for a new suit! Cheaper suits don't last long at all as the gas injected as bubbles in the neoprene isn't the same as a good quality suit, so they compress and don't return to original size at all (this is true of all surfer wetsuits, that is why they cost so much less - they aren't made for depth). (I learned this at a seminar by a wetsuit manufacturer who actually brought in cross sections of different brands of suits, old and new, to show the difference.) Some of the cheaper brands of suits out there are crap, to put it mildly!

A couple of years ago I replaced my 2 pc 7mm suit(4 yrs old) and wow what a difference! My old suit was getting crunchy, dry, and no flex left. I thought I was staying warm in it too.... Once I got a new 7mm one-piece suit I was actually alot warmer! I had no idea how much of a difference a new suit would make.
Just my 2 cents.

robin

 

[RonFrank]

I'd patch the suit, and see how it goes. If it tears again, you may want to start looking for a new 7mm. If it holds, well it holds.

I think you have all the info you need to do this. Just make sure when you go to join the seam/rip, that there is nothing that will pull it back apart while drying. If that is a problem, you can tape the seam together while drying, buy you may end up leaving some tape on the suit when you go to remove it. You can use wax paper to help prevent that if it matters to you.