Stupid neck seal!!!

[fisherdvm]

Anyhow, I replaced the neck seal by myself on this drysuit. Didn't have a form, so I cut a plastic pail...

I left the old gasket on, but cut it to the neoprene collar.

Stretch the stupid thing over the plastic pail...

Put Aquaseal (without crotol - that's probably my mistake).... The darn thing slipped off the pail overnight (too darn tight)... And the seal peeled off the suit.

Anyhow, stretched it back on again in the morning, and took it off later that night.

Anyhow, probably over 85% of the seal stuck, and just little bits of the edges were not glued... So I bought another tube of aquaseal and applied it to the loose edge.


My mistake - I think I should have used croton with the aquaseal... It was too thick to spread well.

The form could have been better, but I dont' know how to find one....

If I were to use croton, I think it would have dried quicker, and I wouldn't have ran into the problem of it slipping off the form...

Have any ideas??

 

[Rick Inman]

Form shape is everything. I use a big rubber ball. I also use contact cement, which adheres instantly and prevents slipping, and then a bead of Aquaseal around the edge.

 

[Peter_C]

I did my old drysuit like this, using a piece of melamine cut in a circle. I prefer the PB300 for that type of gluing though.

 

[dave4868]

Anyhow, I replaced the neck seal by myself on this drysuit. Didn't have a form, so I cut a plastic pail...

I left the old gasket on, but cut it to the neoprene collar.

Stretch the stupid thing over the plastic pail...

I may be misinterpreting what you've described, but there shouldn't be a need to stretch a latex seal into position. Or does "gasket" refer to a neoprene seal?

Put Aquaseal (without crotol - that's probably my mistake).... The darn thing slipped off the pail overnight (too darn tight)... And the seal peeled off the suit.

I wasn't aware that AquaSeal had a good enough bond to attach seals. Maybe it works on neoprene seals, but I've never done those.

On latex seals, I use contact cement for a stronger, more immediate bond.

Anyhow, stretched it back on again in the morning, and took it off later that night.

Anyhow, probably over 85% of the seal stuck, and just little bits of the edges were not glued... So I bought another tube of aquaseal and applied it to the loose edge.


My mistake - I think I should have used croton with the aquaseal... It was too thick to spread well.

I use AquaSeal thinned with an equal amount of toluene (Cotol) just for sealing the edge of seals, over seams, under valve bases, etc. It adheres well enough for those jobs.

The form could have been better, but I dont' know how to find one....

Cardboard will work, but I cut a couple template discs from polycarbonate.

I use double-sided adhesive tape on the discs and press the suit opening and latex seal onto the templates, then apply the contact cement (two coats or more).

Once the cement has become tacky, the neck seal can be lined up over the suit opening and lowered down onto thin spacers, such as toothpicks, and positioned exactly.

Remove the spacers one at a time and press the two tacky surfaces carefully together to avoid trapping air bubbles.

Then roll and finish up by sealing the edges with two or three coats of thinned Aquaseal.

If I were to use croton, I think it would have dried quicker, and I wouldn't have ran into the problem of it slipping off the form...

Definitely would have dried quicker.

If I understand you correctly, the stretching of the materials may have contributed to a poor bond, but I just don't think AquaSeal is the best for this bond.

Have any ideas??

I would make a couple nice templates of stiff, thin material to the exact diameter of the seal when in unstretched condition.

I'd recommend contact cement.

I'm using something called S-18, an industrial neoprene contact cement used for installing marine carpet, among other uses. It's what a local shop uses in their drysuit work.

If needed, I can post some pics to illustrate.

Dave C

 

[fisherdvm]

I got the info off the web, on a site that is about rafting. They said to use aquaseal, and that it would dry "overnight"... Everyone I talked since, said that it would take 24 hrs, unless you use crotol 50:50.

You are likely correct about not having to stretch it, it was my misunderstanding. I think you need to stretch over a tube only for ankle and wrist seal... That caused the darn thing to slip off over night.

The DUI guide for neck seal replacement, appear that they do use a small form, but not for stretching, but only for ease of applying pressure...

Hindsight is 20:20... Too late now. The next time, I'll use a beach ball, or a cardboard form, contact cement, and aquaseal just to seal the edges??

 

[dave4868]

I got the info off the web, on a site that is about rafting. They said to use aquaseal, and that it would dry "overnight"... Everyone I talked since, said that it would take 24 hrs, unless you use crotol 50:50.

You are likely correct about not having to stretch it, it was my misunderstanding. I think you need to stretch over a tube only for ankle and wrist seal... That caused the darn thing to slip off over night.

The DUI guide for neck seal replacement, appear that they do use a small form, but not for stretching, but only for ease of applying pressure...

These are easy to make, from stiff cardboard even. Here are a couple images of my DIY polycarbonate template rings and a template disk.

Hindsight is 20:20... Too late now. The next time, I'll use a beach ball, or a cardboard form, contact cement, and aquaseal just to seal the edges??

Too late? Not really.

If we're talking about a membrane drysuit and latex neck seal, you can probably carefully remove the seal, without damaging it, and peel away the AquaSeal and start over. Especially since the bond isn't that strong, IMO.

But that would be, as Maynard G. Krebs would exclaim, "WORK!". (Dobie Gillis Show, early '60's).

Dave C

 

[Dectek]

R.I.P Bob

 

[Humble older aquaman]

Yes, Aqua Seal will work, but the next seal will be a hassle. 50/50 mix does "dry" faster. The Aqua Seal is tough to remove though. Most who do this for living use some form of contact cement, depending upon base material (trilaminate, rubber like viking suits, PVC etc.) because with careful amounts of heat gun use it's easier to take apart, and glue on new seal.

Good luck on next try!

Hoa!