How to fix my Drysuit

[schafer]

Hey guys. Was out for a set tonight and my leg is getting wet. I have a Oneill bag suit with the neoprene neck and rubber arm and leg cuffs. I think the glue is letting loose. What kind of glue should I use to repair it? Don't have time to send it away to Oneill as the water dipped before 40° F here in Alberta today. And I hope to get in at least a dozen more sets before it freezes over. Thanks in advance.

[TylerR]

There is a dry suit repair adhesive that can be bought at most dive shops but it will probably invalidate your warrantee

[GOODESkier]

Looking forward to hearing some solutions.

[thager]

Turn it inside out and slip an appropriate size round cylindrical object inside like a chlorine bottle or guide buoy to stretch out the seam as tight as possible. Sew seam in same holes with needle and thread if thread seam is coming coming apart. Do not sew through to the outside of the suit. i.e copy their sewing method. Brush on seal cement and let dry. Add additional layers as necessary. You're on your own from here. Be patient!!!

[waterskicorey]

Just a heads up before you glue your seals, I glued my seals to finish off the season last year, then sent my suit into O'neill to get them replace them. They sent my suit back and said they won't replace the seals if you glue them yourself. I then sent my suit to Promotion Wersuits and they replaced the seals. They did a fantastic job, I will never deal with O'neill again

[mikegile]

Use @thager's technique with Aquaseal.

 

[ToddF]

I use old fashioned rubber cement it works great and is cheap

just don't sniff to much of it

[mwetskier]

@ToddF -you said rubber cement but did you really mean contact cement? rubber cement is an office supply product primarily meant for gluing paper products and will come back off way too easy.

[ToddF]

@mwetskier Yes thanks. Good catch :)

[Marco]

@schafer - "How to fix my drysuit?"...First step; put it in a plastic bag, then throw it in the trash. Second step; Buy a Camero Blaktec 2mm wetsuit from Robby's or Performance and ski happily ever after B)

[thager]

@Marco Is that from the same book that says to remove the throttle knob and replace with new Nautique???

[Marco]

@ thager ...How did you get a copy of my book?

[schafer]

@Marco I own a camaro and I love it. But my camaro and 38° F water don't keep me warm.

[Marco]

38 degrees??? Yikes, you are die-hard! Better fix your drysuit!

[GAJ0004]

Post a photo if you can..

[ALPJr]

Any Ballers ever sent their wetsuit to O'Neill for repair? Years ago at Berkeley an O'Neill rep told us that if we ever need repairs just contact headquarters then ship it to them and they usually are able to make them as good as new, within reason.

[ToddL]

High-level Steps:

Remove the old seal material completely.

Remove any old adheasive - use MEK solvent if needed

Locate something to serve as a form to fill the sleeve/leg and make it full and taunt.

I found that 4" PVC seems to work for a sleeve and a 3 Liter soda bottle works for the leg.

Turn the garment inside out.

Push the form down to the cuff and partially out

Use painters masking tape to mask off the cuff so that only the 1" section where adhesive will go is exposed.

Turn the seal inside out and position onto the cuff into its final location.

Put Masking tape on the seal where the cuff ends and back along the seal a bit (2" worth)

Fold the edge of the seal back ontop of its masking tape. The tape helps to establish a point for the seal to fold.

Now you should see 1" of cuff and 1" of seal butted against each other with masking tape next to each.

Scuff up these surfaces to improve adhesion of the glue.

Use contact cement. Many recommendations out there, google them. I used Weldon.

Follow directions to apply and wait.

Roll the seal dge carefully back onto the cuff to set it into final position

Use a small seam roller to press along the seam for good contact.

Let it cure.

Remove the form, and turn right side out.

 

 

I think there are some dive shops which have posted some videos or PDF files on these types of steps.

 

Good luck!

 

Plan B: Camaro 2MM or more. I have a Camaro 3/4 MM wet suit intended for surfing or something. I like it more than a dry suit.

[david_ski]

The zipper on my O'Neill Assault hybrid drysuit broke this week. I called O'Neill about repair. It will cost $150 for a zipper repair. New O'Neill drysuit runs ~$370 through Wiley's. My backup is an old O'Neill full neoprene drysuit or the 1.5mm Camero top.