Frustrated with Drysuit Repair

[jiveturkey]

A rubber knee pad is coming off my shell drysuit. Sending it back to the manufacturer is not an option at this point. It's too far away and this is my only exposure suit I have until I get back to Canada. I've tried to use aqua seal's "seal cement" to fix it three times but each time the pad has become unglued after the first dive. I know it's meant for neoprene but my LDS told me it would work. I guess he was wrong.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[MarkH]

Isn't Seal Cement basically just a contact cement (that's what the little can looks like)? If so, I've found that stuff to be pretty useless underwater. It only lasts around half of a dive. I don't think it's waterproof. I use the Aquaseal urethane sealant that comes in the tubes (like toothpaste). That stuff works much better. I'd sand the material to roughen it up, smear the aquaseal under the pad and then put a weight like a heavy book over it. It dries overnight.

 

[riguerin]

There's always duct tape ... good luck cleaning up the mess afterwards. Is your dry suit leaking because of this problem ?

 

[Scottri]

Check with the manufacturer to see what type of glue they suggest. What is your suit made of? Is it a tri-lam suit? I use glue that is sold by OS Systems and it works very well on bi-lam and tri-lam suits.

 

[jiveturkey]

The stuff I'm using comes in a tube and I tried the book method. I have cleaned up the mess left over after the failures and fortunately, it just peeled right off. As of now, there are no leaks in the suit. It's a Bare Nex-Gen bi-lam. I've emailed Bare to see what they recommend. I'll post their response when it comes. Thanks guys.

 

[jiveturkey]

I called Bare. They said their only advice is to use aqua seal glue and if it doesn't work, I'd have to bring it in for service. I'll try it one more time and if it doesn't work this time, I'll probably have to resort to duct tape to get me through to September.

 

[Scottri]

Call OS Systems and order a pint of the glue they use. I think it's called PB300.

 

[mtbrider]

Use regular AquaSeal (the urethane stuff not seal cement) and mix it 50/50 with Cotol 240. (tolulene) This thins the Aquaseal and allows it to penetrate the material. The Cotol will also speed up the drying time to about 2 hours.

 

[Bob3]

Seal cement is just a high quality wetsuit cement/glue. Your bonding issue is probably with the old glue, which will need to be prepped properly before slapping more glue on.
Since you've already got the Seal Cement on the suit, you're pretty much stuck with having to use that until all the old Seal Cement gets removed from the suit & kneepad.
Seal Cement is quite a bit thicker than other mfgr's wetsuit cement, which may play to part of the problem; it won't soak into the fabric well at all unless its thinned down.
Start off by degreasing both surfaces to be glued. Toluene works best for this but in a jam MEK or alcohol can be used.
Next you want to roughen up both surfaces to give the cement something to grab onto. Coarse sandpaper, at 36 - 120 grit, should do the job.
Degrease again, with a clean rag.
Apply Seal Cement to both surfaces; allow to dry completely tack free & apply a second coat. Allow to dry completely tack free again, and press/roll/beat with rubber mallet.

 

[cummings66]

Since you said the seal cement is off the suit, pealed off as you put it, use the cortol with the aquaseal. That stuff will work guaranteed. The cortol is also a cleaner and you can use it to clean the area first, then mix it with the aquaseal and apply.

I've got a buddy who used it to repair the washing machine of his when it went bad, the tub sprang a leak and nothing would hold to that slick plastic except aquaseal. He uses that machine at the dive shop all the time and it's fine.

Great stuff, not cheap though when you consider the cortol plus once opened it tends to dry out.