Northwest Dive Club

Hey all, my trilam drysuit is about ready for some new latex wrist seals and I thought I'd have a go at doing it myself.

Do you have some pointers, or instructions that work for you? Or refer me to a web site or video.

What I especially want to know is how you go about removing the old seals (heat gun?), and any jigs you may use to hold the sleeves in shape when applying the new seals.

glenn

I hear some people just cut the old seals closely and then glue on top of the old ones? Unless the condition of the existing substrate is too questionable

You can do that (leave the old seal) but I've found it breaks down over time and then you get leaks that are pain to find and fix.

Fine a piece of pipe that fits through the wrist pretty snugly. (I've used 3" PVC with good success, if it's too small, wrap is with cardboard to get a little more diameter) Heat to peel off the old seal, then Acetone with a razor blade and scraper to remove the old glue. It's best if you can get it reasonable clean of the old glue.

I then put the new seal on the PVC pipe with the cuff rolled back, and butted up against the suit such that if I roll it onto the sleeve it's in position.

Prep is key to a good seal. I wipe the new seal with acetone, then scuff with 80 grit sandpaper, then another wipe down. Wipe down the suit side with Acetone as well. 2-3 coats of glue on the suit, at least 2 on the seal.

When the last coat is pretty dry, start rolling the seal up onto the suit. I try to start on one side, then do the part 180deg away, then work my way around. This prevents getting a big wrinkle if you are stretching the seal as you pin it down. If you get it a little wrong, hit it with the heat gun and you have a few seconds to soften it up and re-position it. Then hit it with a little roller to get a good set on the glue.

I like the DRIS dry suit glue. It's the best thing I've worked with so far. PB3000 is I think basically the same stuff and I think you can get that from lighthouse.

This guys videos are good - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10gRSju2BW8 He also has a good one on neck seals that helped me learn to do it.

Replacing seals yourself is pretty straight forward, saves a little $, but I mainly like the convenience of being able to do it myself, not having to wait until a shop has time to deal with it.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Jake

THis ^^^

Awesome description! Thank you.

A dremel with a wire wheel works pretty good at removing the old glue prior to sand paper and acetone.

Boarderguy wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 5:26 am A dremel with a wire wheel works pretty good at removing the old glue prior to sand paper and acetone.

I have one of those too and will give it try, thanks.