Drysuit zipper repair

[brassrat]

A local police auction reseller sold me a used Viking Pro drysuit. It's a steal, but it has some issues, namely the zipper. The condition of the zipper when bought was far worse and I cleaned it up with soap water and used zipper wax. But I'm still worried about the seal, which is flaking off. From the pictures, would the zipper need to be replaced? I'm a DIY kind of guy so I can make a quick home repair if there are solutions out there. Thanks, all.

 

[Tbar]

You can test it... its hard to say from pictures...

Plug the neck and wrist seals with appropriately sized bottles zip closed close the vent and inflate. Then use on soapy water and check for leaks.

 

[Colliam7]

You can test it... its hard to say from pictures. . . . use on soapy water and check for leaks.

Times 2.

Although a visual inspection is always a good idea, the meaningful test is whether it leaks.

 

[ajduplessis]

Ditto. Does it leak?

 

[mmerriman]

put on a pair of hospital scrubs. put on the drysuit. jump in the pool. open up and look for wet spots. sometimes thats the only way I've been able to find small insidious leaks...

 

[KathyIGH]

This is Kathy with DUI. We have a few videos up on ways to water test your drysuit at home. You can view the selection at DUI Drysuits.

Good luck!

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

I would say clean it up(you've already done that), carefully run a lighter across the surface to burn off the "Danglies", put on some hospital scrubs like said above(love that idea BTW), and swim around in a pool for a while. That should give you the answer you seek. Of course from the looks of the zipper in the pictures you're not too far from a zipper replacement anyway.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

No need to test anything. The zipper is toasted. You can see the fabric where the dry portion of the zipper is missing. See the pics.

We stock both the standard duty and Heavy duty zippers. Are you looking to DIY, or send it in for service? The only fix for your zipper, is a replacement. It's a goner....

YKK Drysuit Zippers - Dive Right in Scuba

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