Is Seal Saver bad for latex seals?

[doctordry]

The oils produced by your skin are worse for latex than seal saver

 

[Hoosier]

No petriolium product.... I only use a McNett UV protector Spray..... It works great...

 

[wedivebc]

As others have mentioned - it is petroleum you want to avoid.

Until the next dive,
Tyler

And leaving the seals exposed to sunlight in the back of your car. They turn to the texture of gummi bears.
The seals in my catalyst have lasted 4 years with regular seal saver applications.

 

[FishDiver]

Does the use of silicone gels like KY to lubricate seals help or harm the latex? I know they are water-based products.

 

[scubak]

We wash the seals and then apply seal saver to our latex seals...
To help glide into them ) ) we apply a water based personal lubricant when we are donning our suits.
K

 

[liberato]

Would regular detergent and water remove any silicone residue if ever needed or would a stronger solvent be necessary?

 

[Temple of Doom]

Warm soapy water will completely clean up personal silicone lubes like SealSaver.

If SealSaver is too expensive, you can buy the identical silicone-based lube from a finer drug store or adult supply store. There are several brands (Eros Bodyglide, Wet Platinum, etc) that are quite inexpensive as they don't carry the SCUBA Tax™.

Of course the benefits of the personal lubes, other than price, is that they have more than one use.

Craig

 

[Jim Lapenta]

We surveyed dive suit manufacturers when we were working on the divesuit book, and just about every one of them, with the notable exception of, I think it was, OS Systems, said not to use the stuff.

If you use 100% silicone, from a pump spray bottle, or in wipe-on solution, it probably won't hurt the seals, but it will make it harder to repair the suit in the future. If you use "garage" products, with dubious propellants and carriers, its anybody's guess what they'll do. But latex is fussy stuff, so why take changes?

Actually when I got my OS suit it is what the dealer recommended. Been using it for three years now. Replaced the seals once but that was due to a bad batch of glue that OS used during the time my suit was made. That was fall of 2004. They replaced the seals about a year later and have had no problems since. One poster was correct though. You need to be sure to clean and rinse them first. I use mild diluted(like 20:1) dish washing detergent, rinse, dry, and apply the seal saver.

 

[jlyle]

Interesting thread. The reason given not to use silicone seal-saver on DUI latex seals was that it would make gluing new seals difficult. To replace a worn or torn seal, you cut the old one off and glued the new one to the remaining latex on the cuff. Sounds reasonable. Fast forward to today. We have ZipSeals that don't required gluing to replace. Shouldn't DUI recommend silicone?

 

[Beth_M]

Not to hijack the thread, but what about 303 Aerospace Protectant:

303 Products Inc.: 303 Aerospace Protectant [www_303products_com]

Supposedly safe on latex seals and a lot more economical and versatile than "Seal Saver":"

303 Products Inc.: Is 303 Aerospace Protectant Effective On Latex Rubber? [www_303products_com]