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Wetsuit Repairs / Reinforcing - Sikaflex / Shoe Goo / etc

Gold Fever Equipment
#1

Just saw this Tassie Boys post… https://www.instagram.com/p/CINd8ETnrIe/

What’s everyone here use for repairing and / or giving a bit of extra reinforcing to areas that are getting a bit too much wear on their wetsuits?

Looking though the comments I can see Shoe Goo mentioned. And I assume the “Sykaflex” is supposed to be Sikaflex, but there’s a whole bunch of products it could be… maybe Sikaflex-291? Looks like the stuff the Bering Sea Gold dredging guys might be smearing all over their gloves, knees and elbows.

Any of these tried and tested by you guys? Anything work particularly well for a reasonable price?

#2

I suppose it is a good spot on this thread to say that a good hint to save wear on legs is to make knee protectors out of freebie tyre tubes. They last forever and protect the suit perfectly. I found them better than expensive commercial ones I had. The back has to be cut out leaving a band at top and bottom and one pair I had made from a large tube which was too big had a clasp which could be tightened and undone to take off.

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#3

Cheers for that suggestion. In my case the wetsuit already has a bunch of additional flaps installed over the knees to provide extra protection. Working pretty well. I think it’s because it’s a spearfishing wetsuit so extra feature to allow kneeling on sharp barnacle rocks?!

#4

We use tyre tube too, free and easy to make. they dont offer any padding but sure as hell stop ya wetsuit gettn shredded.
Tried glueing some tube to the suit last year but didnt work for long as the fabric outer ended up tearing away from the neoprene.

#5

I just wear cotton overalls over my wetsuit to protect it from rocks and sticks ripping it etc

#6

I use Bathroom Silicone on mine, Soft and flexible. handles the wear longer than the suit, great for sticking on patches.
Normally put 3mm on knees when I get a new suit, easy to repair and add more when it starts getting cut up.

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#7

I bought some of that butyl rubber sheeting from Mitre 10. Cheap as and hard wearing. I cut out knee pads and elbow pads. To attach it I used ados glue. The secret to affix it is. Put wet suit on, sit down on a chair with the knee’s bent, then apply glue to wetsuit and the rubber, leave till tacky then stick on. You may have to cut a few slits on the sides so its a good fit. Sit there for around five minutes. Peel of wetsuit, and jobs done. I had previously used the tube type ones but found them a bit to tight when knee;s bent. This way stops that.

Cheers Trev aka “The Mad Hatter”

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#8

Cool thread!

My go-to is balage tape - one strip just below the knee joint and one strip just above it. Same on elbows. It’s ridiculously sticky. Cut it and peel off at end of the day. No suit modification needed, and (unless your suit is already munted) it won’t tear away the neoprene when it comes off.

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#9

Decided to experiment with Sikaflex on the elbows of my wetsuit as they were getting pretty worn through. Will report back after I’ve done a bit more dredging to see how effective it is for re-enforcing worn areas…

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The white clashes a bit with my camo, people are going to see me dredging now!

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#10

Sometimes I like to dredge and snipe completely naked…I feel one with the water…you also need less to weight you down…I usually just grab a couple of large rocks and clasp them between my thighs…which in turn pinches my balls,the excruciating pain numbs the pain of being in 6 degree water every time…Keith and Lammerlaw taught me this technique…why?..because I’ve had way to many vodkas tonight and have heat stroke from working in this inferno climate I live in…my bad!..lol!!

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#11

Thought about it then thought nah… the eels would make me too nervous if I was naked :stuck_out_tongue:

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#12

Far out it’s a fucking hippo - l didnt know we had them in New Zealand.
Vodkas? A vodka drinking hippo? Well that’s a new one - you could become a good side show in ‘Doctor Slyloves Travelling Circus and Medicine Show’ - maybe mate with the worlds hairiest lady and produce the first vodka drinking hairy hippo!
I suppose one good thing about naked underwater gold fossicking is that you can keep the gold nuggets you find plus your pinpointer device up where the sun dont shine - the day could then become even more pleasant.

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#13

F@#K Mal. Watch out for eels. If one grabs your willy thinking it is a little wormy :joy: your life will never be the same. I know of an incident here in Queenstown where a young boy was swimming starker’s in Queenstown Bay & an eel grabbed his willy & rolled & rolled until it ripped it off. True story. It was in the paper. Has to be true.

JW :cowboy_hat_face:

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#14

Whay glue did you end up using gavin? Was it the sikaflex 291?

#15

Yep, that’s the one. I reckon it must be the stuff they seem to use on Bering Sea Gold. Feels pretty solid, but I’ll report back after I’ve used the suit again in anger dredging.

#16

Im currently using seal and flex. Works well, sticks well, and doesn’t affect movement much. https://www.bunnings.co.nz/bostik-600ml-black-seal-n-flex-1-sealant_p0311400

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