Repairing SMB

[DarkAbyss]

So I found a hole in my SMB. It's so small it'll probably take an hour or so for the SMB to deflate, but I like my gear to be top notch at all times.
Is it as simple as getting a small patch and some appropriate glue?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Depends on the material. Some glues may not work on the slick material of certain models. Personally I'd just toss it and buy a new one. It's not like they cost an arm and a leg.

 

[eelnoraa]

I had a puncture in my smb recently. The outside material is nylon like fabric. After a few attempts, my repaire seems to work pretty well. Here is what I found work the best in my case.
1. Clean the surface real well. I used alcohol and mek.
2. I use aqua seal. The first coat, I used a lot of cotol. Basically I want very thin liquicd that can get soaked into the fabic. On my earlier attempt, I didnt use enough cotol. What happpened is although aqua seal sticks to material well, air still leak through what seemed to be laterally across the fabic. It seems aqua seal didnt penetrate the material enough.
3. Once above dry, about 1 hour. I add a few coat more aqua seal without cotol. This will take some time in between. What I found is with cotol, the aqual. seal become less soft less flexible when dry. The edge start to pill when I tried to give some stress test especially if the coat is thick. So no cotol after the very first thin coat seemed to work better.

I hopeothis help. Good luck on your repair.

 

[DarkAbyss]

Thank you! If the stuff required to fix it is cheaper than getting a new one, it's an easy choice. A fixed one may still serve as a backup, so I will consider repairing it anyway.

 

[eelnoraa]

In my case, buying a new one that fit my specific usage will cost me $100. Aqualsea with cotol is $10. Not reason not to give a try.

 

[DarkAbyss]

Exactly. Mine is also in that price range, so no reason not to try!

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

But if you repair it, it won't be perfect anymore, esthetically or structurally. It might be a grade or two below top notch.

You might have to heat up the plastic in that area so the original plastic re-seals the hole, this way, it would be exactly like it was before.

 

[abnfrog]

So I found a hole in my SMB. It's so small it'll probably take an hour or so for the SMB to deflate, but I like my gear to be top notch at all times.
Is it as simple as getting a small patch and some appropriate glue?

use tear aid it has 2 one for vinyl
l etc the other for fabric based materiel ..its worked well on every thing ive used it on ...

 

[tr3a]

"Tear Aid" tape either Type A or Type B depending on material being repaired. Google it. Works great even for suitcase repair.

 

[GiantMoray]

I would recommend extreme caution with heat, experience tells me that things like this don't just melt back into position but tend to get worse. Of course people more experienced than me in this kind of thing might have more luck!