hey y'all, i just ripped a nice hole in my 3-month old 4/3. i have some rubber cement and a needle but i'm not quite sure how to approach it. would you take a piece of neoprene (from a coozy or something) and stitch it on the inside of the hole? or the outside? how thick should the thread be? i'm kind of frustrated because this is a major repair that needs to be done on a relatively new suit
have you tried to take it back to the shop and have it exchanged under warranty? Most suit manufacturers are pretty good about warranty repairs/replacements.
Well first off...Is it a tear or a hole? what kind of suit? (brand, model..chest zip..ect.) Where on the suit? Yeah you might want to try to see if they will take it back...but if not. You can still fix it. get some thin fishing line and thread it up. and then use the neoprene cement BOOM done! I repaired a 6-7 inch tear without any problems...and it still is holding up real nice.
i would first try to take it back to the store, then try to get a manufacture warranty, and if you have to take matters into your own hands, do not use a beer koozie..... glue one side of the tear overlapping the other with neoprene glue (make sure it can deal with uv light etc otherwise eventually it will dry and crack out) then once youve glued them sew the pieces together i suppose nylon would work, but you might be better with something that gives more and wont rip thru the material.
I'm sure the the other guys will give you a helpful answer, MY question is, HOW did you do it? Is it a worthy story?
it is a clean 4-inch tear on the right ass cheek. lol. there is an equally discomforting incision in my skin. rode too high on a shoulder-head high left and went over the falls from inside the tube. wasn't wearing a leash - somehow one of my fins came forward to bite me on the ass and i knew right away that my wetsuit (and skin) was sliced open. it was more like a butcher bringing a knife down on a cutting board instead of a snag or rip. fishing line is the consensus? i guess regular thread isn't the smartest way to go.
what kind of glue? i'm guessing i shouldn't use elmer's. i have neoprene cement, will that suffice? i also found some waxed dental floss in my bathroom. i'm afraid to give my suit to o'neill because i'm sure it's going to take them like a month to return it and by then i can use my 3/2's in the mornings. besides they'll probably just repair it the same way as i'm going to. my 4/3 is still under warranty for another 9 months; hopefully some seams start fraying within that time period so they'll send me a brand new psychofreak or something
Yeah NeoPrene Cement is the same cement that I use . I just get it in black . I justs bought some Oneil Wetsuit reapair cement from Heritage Surf shop . It cost 17.95 and came in a jar with a brush built into the lid.
