How to repair this wetsuit?

Triathlon Forum
1

First time using my new wetsuit, damaged it pretty much instantly. The damage is on the shoulder, probably from a fingernail, even though I was wearing gloves…
Now the problem is that some of the material is gone, so how do i repair this?
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/203/12052013395.jpg/http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/203/12052013395.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/12052013394.jpg/http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/12052013394.jpg/

Here are what I think are my options:
1/ fill it up with glue and let it dry without actually gluing something together (not sure if that will hold)
2/ cut off some leg material and make a piece of neoprene that fits in the hole and glue it in
3/ cut a V shape (at the top and at the bottom) trough the neoprene but not trough the fabric behind it, then glue left and right together.
4/ cut trough the wetsuit, again making a v shape at the top and the bottom. glue left and right side together

in each case i would install a patch from an old tshirt on the back of the wetsuit. just to make sure.
What do you guys think is the best way to repair this?

2

you should be able to find neoprene glue

I’d just fill the hole with that since it isn’t a hole, just a little divot.

3

It’s a nice clean divot, just fill the hole with some wetsuit glue and put some tape over it while it dries to level it out. I would not be attempting neoprene grafting or pulling the two sides of the divot together, that will completely screw up your suit.

4

It’s a nice clean divot, just fill the hole with some wetsuit glue and put some tape over it while it dries to level it out. I would not be attempting neoprene grafting or pulling the two sides of the divot together, that will completely screw up your suit.

Do you mean some kind of reinforcement tape to prevent further damage, or like scotch tape to take off after the repair? would you reinforce the back of the divot too? I don’t really know if the strenght of a wetsuit is in the neoprene itself or in de backing fabric.

5

^^^^This. As long as it’s not all the way through you’re fine. I use something called aquaseal that has worked pretty good on things like this.

6

That ‘gouge’ shouldn’t really be an issue.

But… if you want to get creative, you could consider cutting an inch or so off each leg, then doing a bit of a patch up job with the spare neoprene.
If you use the right glue, you could fill the hole…

PM me if you like - it used to be my line of work.

7

there is also neoprene repair patches that you iron on with heat, which maybe better here cause it looks like a hole in a critical joint area
.

8

I have a wetsuit I had since 2006 and it has several damaged areas similar to your pictures. Mine is probably from finger nail also. I used shoe glue and just filled in the damage. I’m not sure it matters either way. I just used the wetsuit this past month and it seemed to work fine.

9

McNett’s Seal Cement would probably be sufficient. Just dab a bit in the divot to seal it and you should be done. Probably wouldn’t bother trying to patch the outside but you certainly could. On the inside you can reinforce the jersey liner but probably not needed if it hasn’t been weakened yet. Seal Cement is awesome stuff, dries quickly and is pretty pliable. When you use it for smaller tears that can be pressed closed, you can barely see where the tear was.

Rob

10

It’s a nice clean divot, just fill the hole with some wetsuit glue and put some tape over it while it dries to level it out. I would not be attempting neoprene grafting or pulling the two sides of the divot together, that will completely screw up your suit.

Do you mean some kind of reinforcement tape to prevent further damage, or like scotch tape to take off after the repair? would you reinforce the back of the divot too? I don’t really know if the strenght of a wetsuit is in the neoprene itself or in de backing fabric.

I wasn’t thinking of reinforcing tape, just some scotch or masking tape over the top while it dries and remove afterwards, might just make it look neater when it’s done. I suspect the inside of the suit is much stronger than the outside, hence why it is so much easier to damage the outside than the inside.

11

Find a scuba shop near you, call them on the phone and ask who they use for wetsuit repairs. call that person and tell them what’s up and what you want done. Be sure to tell them it’s a swimming not a diving wetsuit.

12

My opinion would be to leave it as is.

There is a piece of material missing, but the tear shouldn’t get any worse than that.

My feeling with the glue is you have to be very careful with it. Too much glue and when it hardens, it will just rip even further. The good news is that it looks like you’re not down to the liner. The bad news is that the gouge is up against a seam, in an area of the suit that gets a lot of work.

I would avoid all of the options that you mentioned. Especially the filling the hole part.

A patch wouldn’t be good in this spot as it will seriously affect the flexibility of your shoulder.

If any glue is used, I would use if very sparingly, and do not get any on the exterior SCS coated portion of the suit. In an area that has so much flex, I’d recommend that you swim with it a few times and see if anything happens. I doubt that it will get worse. But if you decide to use glue, I’d say a very very thin layer should be plenty.

I have seen a lot of patch jobs that go too far with the glue and end up causing more damage.

The liner should be fine. Just keep an eye on the seam on the outside.

jake