7mm neck tear - 2" chunk - sew or glue?

[wheeledgoat]

Are you using aquaseal FD or Neo? This is a job for aquaseal Neo contact cement,

Uh oh. This is what I get for not doing my research. I figured I wanted some kind of contact cement, though obviously one for rubber/neoprene. Ace Hardware was on list of stops but I was in the LDS anyway and when I explained my situation they handed me a small black tube of "Aquaseal" without another word, so I assumed this was a simple no frills project that people did every day. I'm at work now, can't be sure if it's FD or Neo but looking at pics online I'd have to guess it's +FD.

What I did last night was make a backing of duct tape that helped hold the collar in position to fit the torn piece. I applied it somewhat sparingly to both surfaces, let it soak/set up for a few mins, then applied another small amount and made the join with the assistance of some clothespins and more duct tape on top to keep the seam lined up. This morning only a few spots had held so I made another application into the seam, reapplied the tape/clothespins to keep it in place. We'll see what it looks like when I get home!

Got a dive tomorrow...

 

[wheeledgoat]

If the neck seal material is brittle enough .... looking for a full replacement neck seal and find someone to properly stitch it in?

I wouldn't say it's brittle - suit's only a few years old. I take full responsibility for it, pretty sure any suit would have done this in response to what I did. Lesson learned!

Great to know a whole neck replacement is an option. Any professional seamstress, or should I look for specific wetsuit repair?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I wouldn't say it's brittle - suit's only a few years old. I take full responsibility for it, pretty sure any suit would have done this in response to what I did. Lesson learned!

Great to know a whole neck replacement is an option. Any professional seamstress, or should I look for specific wetsuit repair?

You can look for someone to do the job, or attempt it yourself. I've made a few modifications to my drysuit and I've been pretty happy with them all. Not too terribly hard, I don't have to go anywhere, I'm not without a suit, and I can do it if the need arises again. My first attempt at gluing is by far my worst, I get better every time.

My suit is neoprene, but I guess when I said aquaseal I should have said for neo earlier.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Are you using aquaseal FD or Neo? This is a job for aquaseal Neo contact cement, which bonds neoprene rubber together like it was never torn. Put a very light coat on the mating face of both surfaces, let dry for about 10-15 minutes, then repeat. For the third coat, let it dry for about 5 minutes, then press the mating faces together, pinching along both sides of the seam along the entire length. Allow to cure for at least 1 hour. If you'd like to make it even stronger, you could then run a bead of aquaseal FD along the outside of the seam as well, probably 2 coats since the first will get absorbed into the fabric. Note that aquaseal FD is much less flexible than the neoprene, so don't use it anywhere that needs to stretch.

I'm not an expert on suit repairs, but I think this is very good advice. We stock wetsuit glue and also aquaseal as well.

One thing that I might suggest is to (rather than use relatively inflexible aquaseal over the outside seam) you could use some iron on patch tape. This tape is specifically designed for wetsuits and is very flexible. It can be applied to a damaged seam instead of sewing it. The strength is probably not equivalent to actual sewing, but it is much quicker and easier.

This seam tape can be used on more common wetsuit problems as well - such as when the thread of a seam has been cut and the seam starts to unravel. The tape can be applied to both the inside and outside of the damaged area, if there is a tear.

In many cases, if just a short section of the thread has unraveled, the diver can apply the tape over the damaged section and extend a little ways over the intact sewn seam and this will solve the problem. The seam is reinforced and more importantly the loose thread is locked down and can no longer unravel. A little maintenance goes a long way in preserving the longevity of any brand of wetsuit.

As a matter of clarification, for this particular situation, the seam needs to be first glued back together using the proper wetsuit glue - then you can apply the tape.

One tip if you go this route: Place a sheet of paper between the hot iron and the tape in order to prevent any of the heat activated glue from being deposited on the iron heating surface.

https://www.makospearguns.com/Iron-On-Patch-p/miop.htm

 

[Altamira]

Send it to Chris Summers at Terrapin Wetsuits in Texas. She can fix or replace the entire neck seal. Highly recommend her work.

 

[scubadada]

I had a 7mm wetsuit repaired by Evelyn Dudas at Dudas Diving Duds in West Chester, PA. She is an absolutely amazing woman. She had a workshop behind the dive shop with all the heavy duty equipment that she used. I'm sorry too say that she is now retired.

 

[wheeledgoat]

Thanks for the professional recommendations - may come in handy one day! I think I've got this one handled though. First, however, I'm going to make an embarrassing confession in the off chance it helps someone else down the line: turns out the Aquaseal product my LDS handed me was the "UV" that only hardens upon exposure to sunlight intended for field repair. It did next to nothing sitting on my desk overnight.

I found this Loctite Vinyl, Fabric & Plastic stuff at Ace and it did the trick! Backed it with duct tape again and the next morn results were good.

I wished I hadn't needed to use it that day though because there were a few gaps in the seam that I would have loved to fill with another coat of sealant, but alas Lake Michigan was calling and I had to dive it and hope for the best. Despite my best efforts to be gentle, I did re-tear the glued seam a little bit suiting up (right where the gaps were) but it still held through both dives and the handwash cycle of my washer, so I'm optimistic that once I'm able to hit it with a couple successive coats and ensure the seam is fully bonded on both sizes along the full length, I'll be back in business.