re doing the seam tape

[mirrocraft]

i have an older sea tech dry suit and the seam tape was startin to lift. its just a back up suit and i was playing around with different ideas. i have two part glue but i didnt want to waste it because of the price and its a pain in the rear. so i desided to take some all perpose clear silicone and put it under the seam tape then applied pressure untill it sealed im going to take for a test dive this week after i put my new neck seal on it.

have any of you out there ever done this or thought of it? what do you think about this?do you feel this will or will not work? does anone have a cheap m/L or L dry suit the can sell in get in the water condition or even it it jus needs a neck seal for under 200?or if someones willing to trade a dry suit for some fire fighting gear?

 

[divad]

Well, I don't really need any fire fighting gear, but I've used maybe a ton of silicone and don't believe it will work very well. It doesn't have very good adhesion and is quickly undermined by water. Try "Lexel." It stays flexible and even after wet is very difficult to remove from glass with a razor blade.

 

[spectrum]

I've had some good luck with silicone strength and water wise building aquariums but it is very dependent on having a material it will bond to. The pull strength is also much greater than the peel strength. One good think is that it would be a flexible bond. Cleaning and clamping though sounds like a PITA.

I'd go with the 2 part cement.

BTW is this a laminate, full or crushed noprene suit?

Pete

 

[mirrocraft]

im not using the silicone to hold the neck seal on im using the 2 part glue but as for the inner seam tape it looks like it may work i finished putting all the loose tape back down and im going to go over the hole suit again to day and put on the neck seal and maybe if its all dry try it out tomorrow if i can. the silicone not holding anything on the seams are sown togeither its just a water proofer. spectrum i agree with you about it bonding well for tanks im using the extra silicone i had in my took box from when i re sealed my 125 salt waer tank its very strong on glass. i will keep you all up to day if this works if it down it might be a cheap fix for old suits.

 

[Bob3]

The bad thing about silicone glue/sealants is that most other glues/cements will not like to bond well on top of the residue should it need to be re-glued.
I get annoyed by drysuit manufacturers that use silicone instead of a valve port to seal their inflate & exhaust valves. Glue is cheaper but nowhere near as appropriate, as the valve port allows for repeated removal & reattachment of the valves.

 

[divad]

Try a small tube of "Lexel" and experiment with it. It will adhere to wet sufaces and once it's cured, you can't get it off. I almost had to trash a shower/sauna wall of glass because I could not extricate it from a track imbeded in the perpendicular wall. If I had used silicone, I could have just sliced it with a razor knife.

 

[mirrocraft]

is it plyable. the reason i used silicone is because it flexes with me when i move i sill havent gotten in the water to see if it will work but it looks pretty good so far i tryed to peal it and it was harder to peal than the glue you by for it so thats a plus i put my neck seal on and im trying to find someone to dive with so i can test it out i will give up dates

 

[divad]

It's super pliable. Way more pliable than silicone with way better adhesion. I've gone back to using silicone in glass bathrooms because I don't like the commitment involved with "Lexel." I don't work for the company, but the stuff is amazing.

 

[Eileentk]

Have you tried duct tape? I know that it sounds strange but I did an emergency repair on my Nexus suit last weekend which was leaking where ther seam tape had started to lift off the material. We let the suit dry on Saturday post the discovery of the leak. Then applied the duct tape and dove it on Sunday. Nice and dry. I may wait and see how long the duct tape repair lasts before patching the leak.

 

[mirrocraft]

its funny to hear you say that i was reading i dont remember if it was dui whites or bares site on repairs but the say that is your in a dive and in a pinch that if you cut your suit or tear it for some reason that you can use duct tape on the suit and send it to them for repair with the tape on the suit