VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Just thought I'd pass this link along, very nice. http://kokatat.com/customer_service_self.asp

Just replaced my neckseal on my drysuit ($34 for run of the Childlabor Chinamill type in MEC, paid the $48 at Ocean River Sports for the tougher Brooks seal made at the Mexican illegal alien plant ). AquaSeal price best at MEC, $6 tube (don't use the tub stuff, that one's more for neoprene repairs)

Following some of the link guides, I prepped the area but I removed the old gasket and stretched the suit over a slightly tapered drywall mud bucket, taped in place, then put the new seal over it, flipped up the last inch, glued both surfaces, flipped down and taped the works for the night so it doesn't slip up.

Both Ocean River guy and Kokatat swear by the 303 protectant available at Ocean River $8 for a spraybottle to keep seals from deteriorating. Total UV protection. Also good for water/ice proofing rubber and other latex, vinyl goods. Will try on the MOHO basement door seals as they froze shut and this stuff is to keep ice off (also used for snowmobiles).

Good tips, Kus.

Regarding the 303 Protectant, it's fantastic stuff. I use it on my OR Pyro Pro suit's seals as well as on my monofilm/x-ply sails to keep them new looking. It makes a HUGE difference. A tired looking sail will often look seasons younger with a good application of 303. It's good to apply it on a brand new sail to keep it looking new longer also.

Kus I need to do my wrist seals.

Did you leave a strip of original rubber seal to glue the new seal on to, or take glue right on to the nylon, i.e. remove the entire old seal?

Hey Mattdog, in my case the old seal was totally sticky and cracked so I tried to peel it off. It came off surprisingly easily so I glued things straight to the old glue line on the canvas top. Cleaned it first and wiped with acetone, picked off all old lumps. It is probably easier to just cut the old one and glue to it but only up to 2 layers of old seals thick.
For wrist seals a 2L pop bottle or even bunched up rags in the sleeve would hold the shape for the seal glueing quite nicely. Wrist seals are also much cheaper, $15/pair, so a mistrial is no biggie.

Lesson learned on my try: the AquaSeal sticks to anything but not the poly bucket. I didn't do a very neat job taping off the neck seamline on the outside of the canvass but left about 1/4 inch of canvass showing below the new outside seam. Then I taped right over the glued seam and that 1/4 inch to hold the glue in with another layer of tape. (Duct tape was the only tape that stuck well to the canvass, didn't wann use Tuck tape as it leaves red residue). I then secured the edge of the taped seam to the bucket so the whole thing wouldn't move overnight. When I peeled it off this am, the job was very good but the adhesive of the duct tape was left behind on some aquaseal that seeped into that 1/4 inch of canvas, had to pick it off bit by bit. Next time I will tape neatly 1/8" to the edge of the seam and cover that little bit with maybe scotch tape, then tape over it!! BTW the whole repair took only about 25 minutes

Mattdog: while I normally subscribe to the DIY ethic, the guy at Sundown Diving in Nanaimo did a great job on my neck seal last year. No muss, no fuss, and no dumpster diving for pop-bottles etc. required. D.

I do the neck gasket repairs with a couple acrylic rings. The gasket and suit gets sandwiched between the two rings. Then a whole lot of clamps are used. I highly recommend mixing the aquaseal with Cotol 240. It speeds up the drying time. The Cotol cleans better than the acetone.

For the wrists and ankles I use the gray closed cell 3" thick foam cut into cylinders. The foam makes an excellent form for holding both the suit and the gasket before rolling the gasket onto the suit.

holy labor intensity, Batman! I'd do the bucket again any day, no clamps required, pressure is not an issue for bonding and the bucket keeps the rest of the seal away from the glue....and a whole lot less mess with stuff gooshing out Closed cell foam noodles, there's a ticket, maybe a bit on the small side tho

Sorry about the gooey mess photos. That was my first one, and most of the goo trimmed off. I've done four different suits since then, and have had excellent results. I never could get a traffic cone or bucket to work. But then most of the suits I've done have been kokatat.