Ugly but it works: Camaro Wetsuit Life Support

[UWSkier]

My Camaro is going on 5 or 6 years old and I'd worn a hole clear through the rubberized external coating in my right pit from rubbing on offside wake crossings (I'm LFF). I thought it was as good as dead since every time I'd jump in, water would come flooding through the intact inner lining and the worn area around the hole in the outer layer.

 

I read on here about someone using spray on flex seal to repair a dry suit so I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

The flex seal comes out thick and it's hard to apply nice even coats but you can smooth it out a bit with a finger in a nitrile glove.

 

I actually used flex seal to build up some thickness, then used plasti dip to do a top coat.

 

Stuff a towel inside the suit to stretch out the affected area well before spraying and let dry. Do multiple coats. The wrinkly appearance is from when you pull out the towel.

 

Only used once so far but it was definitely water tight.

 

[Rednucleus]

@UWSkier I LOVE fixing stuff that everyone else throws away! Great job.

[lpskier]

You may have worn the hole because you are using a slightly abrasive vest.

[Wish]

+1 @lpskier Went through a Camaro do to the vest strap. You don’t notice till it’s to late. New vest, no straps, no problem.

[Zman]

Great fix. When it finally wears out, or you want a little more warmth, give Xcel a consideration. Very flexible, warm (in various thicknesses), and they are not so fragile. I'll wear my 2.0 Xcel top over my 1.5 Camaro any day that is colder. On the coldest days I ski, I go with my 2.0 full suit. They use a lining material called TDC that holds body heat.

Awesome products. They have been getting it right for surfers for almost 40 years.

Of course, Stokes makes great stuff too!

[UWSkier]

I did change vests this summer also so we'll see if this holds up.

 

And I've been looking for a good price on an xcel to fit me but there aren't a lot of suits for someone my size (6'5" 250) that aren't 2x the price of an average individual. ?

[Wish]

I did this kind of thing with a silver tech with leaky seams. Turned it inside out. Put padding in sleeve to sim an arm. Taped off everything but 1/4” along seam and used the black flex seal. Worked really well but you could feel the seams as it was no longer as smooth as not being there. If I had to do it over again, I’d have just done it on the outside and lived with it being kinda weird lookn.