Old rubber neck seals - can they be softened again?

[Phil_C]

Got a quick question about bringing an old drysuit back into service - a friend of mine has been out of dry-suit diving for many years (he's still diving 150-200 times a year but only warm water the b*gg*r!).

Going through some of his old kit yesterday we checked out his drysuit and found that the neck and wrist seals, unsurprisingly, were a bit stiff. We were surprised that they still stretch, and there is no sign of the rubber degrading, there are no chips or cracks and when stretched there as no signs of the rubber perishing. I know we could simply replace them but the question is this - is there anything that can be rubbed in/applied etc. to return the original flexibility to the rubber to make it a little softer?

Thanks

Phil.

 

[sphyrnidus]

Probably not, the hardening is the result of the softeners leaving the premises. Most often they wil leak too, when they are this old.

 

[industrious95]

McNett (Aquaseal) sells a seal conditioner, it's a sort of Silicone lube. I don't know that it will help you, but a $10 bottle of seal conditioner might save you a $300 seal replacement, maybe worth a try?

 

[Subcooled]

a $300 seal replacement

What company asks such ridiculous prices?
I have paid half of that for a new neck seal and suit testing.

 

[Phil_C]

The London Dive Show is this weekend so I will have a look and see if anyone is carrying the McNett seal conditioner.

I know he could get the seals changed out quite easily/cheaply but he doesn't normally dive a dry suit because like me he gets to dive warm water most months anyway, so I am more likely to get him back into cold water if he doesn't have to pay a lot out for the privilege.

If he enjoys it I suspect he is likely to just buy a new drysuit, but if we can get a dry ish coupe of dives to entice him back to the dark side that is what I am aiming for

If we were the same size I would lend him my second DS but that won't work, so if we can't get his serviceable for a couple of dives then I we might see if we can borrow one. There is nowhere where we can rent one locally. - P