Glueing and sewing neoprene

[jackdav]

I've noticed in various posts that some folks (like joewr) know how to sew and glue neoprene. Because I am short, fat, stocky, and dense (physically ..... intellectually I'm rather bright), I have no way of sucsessfully buying off the rack wetsuit-wise. And since my weight fluctuates up and down a lot, I am reluctant to put a $600+ custom suit on the plastic, especially as this would be a disincentive to get back into shape. My idea now is to buy a used suit from my LDS which fits in the waist and shoulders and modify the legs and sleeve length to fit....... I don't care if it's pretty as long as it's warm in southern CA and it holds together underwater..... And when I drop some weight, I can get another, smaller wetsuit and do the same thing... I hope. Can anybody advise me on how to fix up the ends of the sleeves and legs after I snip 'em to length? Are there any basic flaws in my thinking?

Longing to swim amid a kelp forrest,
Jack in Phoenix

 

[joewr]

Jack,

Since you mentioned me, I will have the audacity to reply...

I have never done what you are proposing! However, it seems a worthy experiment.

To begin purchase some neoprene glue from your LDS: there are several brands and I have used Trident with success. Then you need some "rot proof" thread: a heavy duty nylon or polyester will do.

Now comes the fun. You will have to cut the pieces to fit...and I think that will be task! I do not think tailoring neoprene will be easy. However, if you manage that, you will need to do the joining. Here are the steps:

First, you will have to clean the edges to be joined: with water to remove any salt; then gently blow dry to remove any water.

Second, join the edges with the neoprene glue and allow to set as recommended on the label.

Third, using careful stitches sew the glue-joined pieces together. I like to use a "baseball" stitch:

http://www.tpub.com/1ase2/108.htm

A curved needle is not necessary. Be careful to NOT "bunch" the stitches. I.e., keep the seams flat.

Fourth, seal the stitches with the neoprene glue by spreading it carefully over them and slightly beyond. Do this several times.

Note: I usually use "clear" glue for the joining so I can see what I am doing. I then use "black" for the fourth step so it will match the black neoprene.

I think the only tricky part of what you propose is the cutting-to-fit part. It will be a little difficult, for example, to create edges that are of equal length to be joined in the lower-leg-to-upper-leg portion. However, if your LDS has some "real junk" suits that they are planning to throw away or turn into patching material, maybe they will donate them to you so you can make a pattern...


Remember, I have never done what you are proposing! So this is a "best guess" approach.


Joewr...u/w tailor to the rich and famous...if you consider Barbara and me, "rich and famous".

 

[jackdav]

Joewr
I just read my post and I can tell I didn't explain myself very well..... What I meant to say is that I think I can find a wet suit that fits OK, except that the sleeves and legs will be about 10" too long ....... so all I really have in mind is cutting them to length, and hemming them..... not really much of a tailoring job ..... maybe I won't even need to glue them.... or maybe I will to seal the thread....
Anyway, I don't intend to spend too much on a wetsuit to see if it works.
Thanks for the reply,
Jack

 

[joewr]

Jack,

Now I understand! If you just shorten the arms and legs, you do not have to do anything with thread or glue! At least not much!

On most wet suits the arms and legs have a hemmed cuff that is stitched. However, let me tell you of our experience. Barbara has arms and legs that are longer than a standard XS woman's wet suit is fitted for. So we had a local "neoprene seamstress" add length to a 3mm Henderson shortly after we purchased it. The ends are not hemmed. She has had the suit for over a year, taken it on over 100 dives and it is in the nearly the same shape as it was when we picked it up from the "seamstress".

One word of caution: mark the cut with white chalk and make sure the line is close to perpendicular with the length of the sleeve; cut with a very sharp knife or scissors. Otherwise, it will look a little sloppy. We would not want that, would we?

The little bit of thread and glue work is when you have to sew a knot in the existing seam along the length of the arm or leg. Then you will have to seal with some glue. This will keep the seam from unraveling...

Joewr...