Question Zipper replacement questions and seam maintenance - DUI TLS 350

[Scuba Scotty]

I recently purchased a DUI TLS 350 for $150. It was made in 2005 and appears to have seen very little use. I inflated and sprayed it down with soapy water, no bubbles anywhere. However, I have not done this with the suit inverted yet. I see some potential issues..

#1 The zipper appears to be delaminating (see photos), the rubber coating is flaking away, so I assume it's done and needs to be replaced? There's not much fuzz to it at all, there is corrosion on the teeth. It appears that it is succumbing to age and not being put away properly, but was not worn out from use. Any other fixes?

#2 The aquaseal seams on the upper side of the zipper have some cracks above the holes where it is sewn into the suit, I picked away at one spot a bit (see photo) and a fair bit of it came off pretty easily. Other seams throughout the suit look good, with maybe one or two spots having small 1-2mm flaws that may need to be addressed. The seams appear very well bonded to the trilaminate material, but not that well bonded to the upper half of the zipper (lower half of zipper has not issues with the seems)

#3 The suit is somewhat difficult to get on an off. Specifically, it's challenging to get my right arm into it when putting it on, and get my right arm out of it when taking it off. Despite that I can get into and out of it by myself with a layer of fleece on (a little panicky the first couple of times). Any thicker undergarments than that I will definitely need help from someone else. The overall width of the zipper opening is just enough for me to get it "flipped" over my shoulders. The zipper opening width seems to be the limiting factor. The suit fits like a glove when it's on, I get some resistance to movement at the extreme range of motion. I can curl into a ball. Reach my valves etc. I wish it was a little wider through the shoulders and under the armpits, but it is not uncomfortable and doesn't restrict my motion in any significant way.

The fabric, new silicone zip seals, integrated socks, and valves appear to be in great shape.

Questions:
1) Should I replace the zipper? Should I replace it with a plastic zipper or metal one? I am attracted to the flexibility, low maintenance, and more lenient storage of a plastic zip. I worry that that opening being just big enough to get into and out of may stress the zipper at it's end points when open.

2) I live in San Diego but I don't want to send this suit to DUI. $400+ to replace the zipper is not worth it to me - full stop. So it's DIY, assisted DIY, or "I know a guy". Therefore: Option A) Can I replace the zipper without sewing it in (the YouTube plastic bag technique)? Dris glue or Rema 4000 + E40 for that? Anyone done this on a TLS 350? How did it hold up? Option B) Anyone had an upholstery shop / cobbler / tailor sew the zipper on for them? How did that go? What would you expect to pay for that?

3) For patching the seams how do I prep them? Pull as much as I can off by hand > sandpaper > aquaseal + cotol over that?

If anyone is in San Diego County and wants to help me tackle this project I would greatly appreciate it.

All advice welcome. Tell me I'm crazy, tell my to go for it, tell me to throw to throw the suit away. I'm not sensitive - let me have it!

 

[lexvil]

This is just my opinion, order a Seaskin so you’ll have a suit that fits.

put the suit on and get in the water to see if it leaks

while waiting for the new suit you can have a go at replacing the zipper in which case you will probably figure out why it costs so much to have some else do it.

if you take the basic cost of the zipper and the bunch of aquaseal and apply that to the Seaskin, sell the zip seals and the valves you may discover the new made to measure suit costs less than this DUI, on the other hand if you try it out in the water and it doesn’t leak just dive it.

 

[Curious_George]

Zipper is a goner. If it’s not leaking now, it will be very soon. The separation/disintegration of the rubber in the second pic is the problem. The loose sealer in the first pic can be easily fixed. Whether or not you replace the zipper yourself depends on your DIY skills and patience. It is not hard to do, but will take patience. Otherwise pay someone $350 to replace and have a suit that may or may not fit correctly. If you have the skills, you can replace a zipper for less than $100. PM me and I can talk you through it.

You should for sure run away from that DUI suit and spend $800 to $1000 on a brand new one from Seaskin. Send the old one to me so I can recycle it properly ha-ha.