Cleaning my Fusion

[Teamcasa]

The disadvantage of using internal suit lubricants, especially silicon based, is it will require much more aggressive cleaning to apply successful patches and repairs. A water soluble lubricant will not last as long, but will make repairs much easier. Note manufacturer’s warnings against using silicon spray on drysuit zippers.

PTFE (Teflon based) is not a silicone based product but your advice against silicone use is a good one.

 

[tech3324]

I periodically wash the inside of my Fusion with dilute dishwashing detergent (you don't want to use any soap or anything with lotion that can leave a residue on the bag). I then hang it inside-out to dry, and liberally coat the arms and legs with SailKote. This works great, and only needs to be done every couple of months (or about every 30 dives or so, more often if I get salt water in the suit).

Just wondering if the skin has to be removed for this procedure. Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

No, it does not have to be removed.

 

[fdog]

The disadvantage of using internal suit lubricants, especially silicon based, is it will require much more aggressive cleaning to apply successful patches and repairs. A water soluble lubricant will not last as long, but will make repairs much easier. Note manufacturer’s warnings against using silicon spray on drysuit zippers.

I'm pretty sure nobody has been spraying Sailkote inside a Fusion longer than me, and I have had zero problems with repairs.

When my cat bit holes into the feet of my suit, it took me a whopping 5 minutes per hole to patch them. It's been a couple of years now and the patches are still strong; actually, you need to know where they are to find them.


All the best, James

 

[SteveAD]

I'm pretty sure nobody has been spraying Sailkote inside a Fusion longer than me, and I have had zero problems with repairs.

When my cat bit holes into the feet of my suit, it took me a whopping 5 minutes per hole to patch them. It's been a couple of years now and the patches are still strong; actually, you need to know where they are to find them.


All the best, James

How long did it take to patch the cat? Or did you bother?

 

[Akimbo]

I'm pretty sure nobody has been spraying Sailkote inside a Fusion longer than me, and I have had zero problems with repairs…

Good to know, thanks for the info. My post was probably more strongly worded than intended — it should have come out more as a general caution rather than any implied reference to SailKote.

Did you do any cleaning prep and what kind of patch/repair do you find successful? I am curious about the heat-gun applied Dry Adhesive Drysuit Tapes if you have tried them.

 

[fdog]

How long did it take to patch the cat? Or did you bother?

Our cat is the Queen of the house, and the servants would never dream of patching her...


All the best, James

 

[fdog]

Good to know, thanks for the info. My post was probably more strongly worded than intended — it should have come out more as a general caution rather than any implied reference to SailKote.

Did you do any cleaning prep and what kind of patch/repair do you find successful? I am curious about the heat-gun applied Dry Adhesive Drysuit Tapes if you have tried them.

Didn't think it was strongly worded at all.


Yes, I prep the area with an alcohol swab - you know, those little 1.5" square tear-open packets that have an alcohol-soaked gauze pad inside. I use two of those, scrubbing the area inside the suit that the patch will go on.

I use the Whites Patch Kit. This has an assortment of pieces of drysuit fabric, coated with the heat-activated adhesive they use to assemble the suits.

Measure, then cut the patch to fit, get out the heat gun, heat the patch and run a roller over it. Done.

The factory guys have told me to start using MEK for a better cleaning of the fabric. <shrugs> As soon as I can find something as easy to use as the alcohol swabs for field repairs, that has MEK, I will.

The heat activated adhesive has been amazing. I have heard of some folks using hot rocks out of a campfire to fix a drysuit.



Anyway. Here is the full story - Sept 2008:

My cat ate my dry suit ...and other tales of woe.

Janet and two of our very good friends (John and Mary, very experienced warm water divers re-learning about cold water) went to Monterey despite some truly intimidating swell reports. We had our bikes with us, just in case it wasn't divable, and a weekend away was just the stress relief I needed.

I've been out of the country for about a month, and had done some diving just before we left, leaving my drysuit hanging in the bathroom in the hurry to leave (this becomes significant, as you will see). Since I hadn't been the water for what seemed forever, I was excited to hit the coast.

Anyway, we hooked up with Harry Wong at Point Lobos. Harry being the "local guy" and all, we defered to him for planning the dive, so we set up a trip to the pinnacles.

So I hopped into my suit and got in the water, ferrying scooters to the staging float. Hmmm. My left ankle was cold. Well, <mentally shrugging> sometimes the undies pull up there, giving me a bit of "contact cold" under the suit.

So I get out, grab another scooter, and this time, my right ankle gets cold, too. And my foot. And the calf of the leg. This is not good, and I'm sure I'm leaking, but by now, everyone else is in the water, so I just decide to live with it.

As I am working my way through the delima, Mary swims up to me, and says <explective> my battery didn't latch! She says she can hear it rattling around inside her scooter, and sure enough it is. Since I have just got in, I grab her scooter and get out to see if I can quickly re-seat the battery. My feet squish as I get onto the ramp, and when I open Mary's scooter, I realize I will drip salt water all over the inside. Bad.

So, reality sets in. I yell out to Mary, just take my Cuda and go, my suit is leaking. So off they all toodle, leaving me behind, swearing in the parking lot.

When I peel off my Fusion, I pour about a quart of sea water out of each leg. The reason: a set of puncture marks in the toe, neat as can be, on each foot. The light dawns....

The Suspect Cat

Janet and I have long joked that our cat, Barchetta, is "chemical dependent". She'll lick the coating off of photographs, lick the kraft paper adhesive tape, eat ribbons, etc. I'm sure that after a couple weeks of hanging there, my drysuit became irresistable, and after a couple of licks and a bite, she had tried both feet. Which were now leaking and wet. If I hadn't wanted to dive so badly, I would have laughed.

After the dive was over, we all joked about it. John (who wears a Fusion the same size as mine) loaned me his drysuit so I could go out for a dive, and what's nice about the Fusion was although it wasn't mine, it fit like a glove anyway. Harry and I took the Cudas out through the ZERO vis in the cove to Betos (maybe 30' of vis at 95'), and had a nice 40 minute dive.

Trouble always comes in threes. Glad I got that out of our system!


All the best, James

PS - I just used the heat gun and patched my Fusion. I went and found Barchetta and showed her, she was unimpressed.

All the best, James