I will respectfully disagree with this method and recommend to not use a lot of glue, and/ or put glue anywhere but inside the tear.
In fact, Profile Design doesn’t recommend it that way either.
http://www.profile-design.com/files/profile-design/pdfs/wetsuit-tips/wetsuit_repair_tips.pdf
Not to be matter of fact, just to be sure that you get the best repair that you can. I think that any wetsuit repair glue should work. Aqua Seal and the Profile Design stuff work very well.
I agree with the recommendation to only apply glue on the inside of the tear. This will help to keep the tear from growing.
Here is a good video on how to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plpv2GYgJnw
If you apply the glue on the surface of the wetsuit, the chances that it will tear further, especially in an area of stretching and movement grows significantly. When the glue hardens it generally isn’t very soft or flexible. When you stretch that material, it will pull on whatever it is holding on to. The inside of the suit will hold this bond better than the silicone coated surface.
I’ve seen a lot of repair jobs with too much glue used on the outside of the tear, that resulted in further tearing due to the glue pulling off of the outside of the suit.
If the tear is all the way through, you will need to apply a patch, I would recommend putting the patch on the inside only and use glue to repair the outside.
To answer the OP’s question, yes it will tear more if you don’t fix it. Maybe not the first time you use it, but it will eventually. I’d recommend you try to repair that before using it again.
Especially with tears on the seam, it is important to repair these, to prolong the life and performance of your wetsuit.
Will a tear affect the performance of the suit? A surface tear? Not to a noticeable degree. Though, if the tear is all the way through, it will start to allow water into the suit. This will start to diminish performance characteristics.
Good luck.
jake
