Marc,

1. It is better to glue the glove directly to the suit instead of the =
seal, the bond will be more secure.  Most adhesives do not stick rubber =
to rubber very well.  Also, sometimes it is better to glue to the suits =
inside surface vice the outside.  Carefully look if the rubber would be =
stretched if it is applied to the outside of the suit, if so the glove =
will experience accelerated rubber degradation.  As little as 3 percent =
continuous stretch will cause the rubber to "rot" quicker.
2. Patch the suit on the inside.  Locate the leak on the inside and =
carefully burn through the nylon with a sodiering (SP?) iron a 1/2 inch =
around the leak point.  Using toluene on a rag in a well ventilated =
area, rub the leak area and then peal off the nylon with a pair of =
needle nose pliers over the leak (this will expose the under lying =
neoprene).  Warm up a tube of  Aquaseal in a hot tube of water (just =
below boiling) and then mix with Cotol (this is toluene with a minute =
amount of an drying accelerator chemical) as per instructions.  You will =
probably need to apply up to three coats of Aquaseal to the exposed =
neoprene and extending out about a 1/4 of an inch onto the nylon.  Let =
dry about an hour between coats and 24 hours after the final coat.  USE =
AQUASEAL, YOU WILL BE HAPPIER IN THE LONG RUN!!!!!!
3. You may find that you can not fix all the leaks in an old neoprene =
suit.  The gas cells in a neoprene suit are ruptured over time by =
folding and compression with depth.  Some of these ruptured cells form a =
flow path all the way through the through the thickness of the suit and =
you get weeping of water through the suit when diving.  No specific leak =
spot.
4. If you do this in a poorly ventilated area, do not attempt to add =
numbers, drive a car, carry on a coherent conversation, etc. upon =
completion.

Respectfully,
Jay K. Jeffries
DUI Field Tech Rep



-----Original Message-----

I was thinking of applying the same treatment to the inside of my
(neoprene - an old Whites Pro - no, if I could afford a new one, I'd
go for it) drysuit. But before doin' so, I just like to have second
or third opinions about mixing ketone & aquaseal together and
spreading the stuff on the inside or outside (whichever is more
appropriate) of the suit. Most importantly, if the substrate so=20
treated is stretched, would the "treatment" crack?

The legs have 1mm thick rubber knee-pads that extend down to the=20
boots, integrating with them, so I believe it may be a better idea to=20
work from inside rather than trying to figure out whatever intricate=20
path the water may follow under the kneepad.

Would it be better to use the (much) cheaper "shoe goo" instead of
the Aquaseal? (The guy I bought the suit from swears by shoe-goo,
and I am myself pretty well satisfied with the non-critical repairs
I made with the stuff; but a guy in our club says that the resulting=20
joint with that stuff is "too hard").

So, what do you guys-who-fix-gear-all-the-time think of the approach?

(No, I don't trust the dive shops in my area to do a good job. And,=20
besides, where would the fun of learning to do it myself be???)

Oh, yes, there is no question about myself breathing from my tank=20
while I play around with the ketone+aquaseal mixture...

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