Wetsuite Repair

Dap Weldwood (contact cement) from Home Depot will be way cheaper, and it's the same neoprene based adhesive the wetsuit companies sell. My experience with repairs is hit-or-miss, but it's always worth a try.

 

I've actually used shoe goo as a cheap, quick repair on a few small holes/tears on one of my old suits and booties. It worked well enough and kept the water out but the holes were fairly small and not exactly in critical areas that get stretched a lot. I'd say its worth a shot when spending $5 could potentially get you through the winter vs shelling out a few hundred for a new suit.

 

i agree, it's always worth a try, i've used 2 'wetsuit repair' goops. one was neoprene queen and the other i can't remember. worked great for small holes and not so good with a tear along the neck. i think it's going to be hit or miss. i don't think they were expensive for the tubes either ~$10 incl shipping off amazon. for that cost you might as well before you shell out 200-400 for a new suit no matter how bad the tear is.

 

Get a needle and dental floss and stitch the tear. Then use the adhesive

 

Important! Get the wetsuite contact cement adhesive! Check your local diving shop, they usually have a varity. I got this stuff a while back called Trident it comes in a can. Follow the instructions, it's like contact cement/rubber glue. You put some one both sides and let it dry, then adhere it together. Works wonders, don't even waste time with stitching it up- the glue will work perfect. Stitching will justs add holes for water to come in. I have repaired cuts that are a few inches long with great success!

 

Fix your wetsuite with this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002P9LVXY/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/188-2007137-4641832

 

Use dental floss to stick it up and seal it with the adhesive and if need me seam tap on the inside

 

http://www.mcmaster.com/#neoprene-rubber-repair-adhesives/=uo4fwv

I use this it is awesome. If suit tears and its pumping and you gotta get back in dry the wetsuite with a hairdryer or throw it in the dryer (i know its a no no but desperate times call for desperate measures) glue the hole shut and hold a hairdryer on the adhesive for like 5-10 min it is cured and you are back in the water rubbery wetsuite like repair. total repair time 30-40 min. Just long enough to warm back up from the flush you just got from the hole.

 

After stitching it and using the neoprene cement/glue...buy an iron-on wetsuit tape/patch. Iron it on both inside and outside. Used this method on a few suit to stretch their "life"...works pretty well.

 

All of these are great advices. GB, do you have an old, tattered suite you can use for patches and swatches? That's a further means of insurance for it being a water tight suite on that seam. There are several different neoprene cement/adhesive products on the market for surfing. I've got a few and haven't needed to use all of them yet. There are also several older treads touching on this topic that had great discussion so you may want to search the archives.

 

Yeah bro. It's probably a good thing that your wetty rags are thinner rather than thicker. My swatch suite is either a 5/4 or 6/5, I forget. Kind of presents an issue if I were to mend up a rip or tear on my 3/2 that's otherwise good. The patch should intuitively be thinner than the wetty it's going on. You don't want to pull an MVsurfer and have a right calf on your 5/4 that's really an 11/9.

Now that I think of it, purchasing a used, torn wetty off the classifieds for dirt, dirt cheap would go a long way with keeping more expensive suites alive.

 

I use aqauseal, it's urethane based. If you can't join the ends of the tear together well, I would go for that, it's a great gap filler and it holds up very well. Tape the hole, fill from the other side, then fill the reverse. Held up very well and I'm about to use it again for some gaps in my taped seams... that water temp is dropping quickly...

I have always wanted to try the contact adhesive though. If you can join the ends I would go with that.

 

Winner winner! Aquaseal urethane repair adhesive sealant. Has worked great on seam repairs for me. Last time I bought it. Was like 7 bucks for a small tube. 3M has something comparable, but I can't recall the name. I just stick with aquaseal

 

Can stuff works the best. Depending on the brand, you could ship it in for repair. Last time I send my rip curl in they fixed for free!

 

Was also thinking that you probably want to re-cut the tear or rip if there is one and it's frayed. That way, you can make a smooth junction. The inside has to have some version of taped seam to prevent cold water getting in there much and that's what the swatch from the old wetty is for.

Trust me, in another month or two, if you have any rips or tears in your suite you'll know by a severe sting and subsequent skin burn at the site of the tear. When I started surfing, it was February and it took me weeks before I realized that it wasn't just the cold water getting on my suite at the neck that was uncomfortable - I had a straight up hole in two places. Explained the burns and surfing in March got a whole hell of a lot more comfortable lol. My knowledge of surfing in general may have been a progress work the last couple years but I learned fast out of necessity how to survive the cold. And you cats wonder why I'm trunking it in 61F water...

 

this is what i'd try.
early indications are its going to be a wetsuitey winter.