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I picked up a used Patagonia "Kitesuit", a Gore-tex based shell-type drysuit which they sold for a short period of time. Unfortunately there were a bunch of leaks in the knee areas which caused my legs to get soaked after about an hour of kiting. I located the leaks and applied some aquaseal to the inside of the drysuit (see photos for a couple examples). I used the suit yesterday and although much better, there is still some water seeping through. When doing a water-leak test in the bathtub I can see the water building up behind the aquaseal and eventually seeping through.

At this point I'm not sure how to proceed. Some options:

1. Increase the overlap by applying more aquaseal
2. Applying some aquaseal to the outside of the suit (unsure if/how it will stick since the outside is kind of rough - see photo)
3. Applying some adhesive "sail cloth" that I have on-hand to cover the sealed areas
4. Purchase and iron-on some of this stuff: MECLO T-2000X patch https://www.ebay.com/itm/X-Large-18-Wat ... 1777765458 . Bit scared of this one since I've never been very good with an iron and I don't want to mess up the suit.

Would appreciate advice from anyone who's done this type of repair before. Much thanks!

I haven't ever need to repair something like this but I'd go for the Goretex repair kits like this one:

https://finandgame.com/gore-tex-repair-kit/

You still have all the rest of the other leg area for breathability if you need it (though the breathability of my drysuit isn't amazing anyway but I'm not worried as long as I'm warm), the key is to stop the water getting through.

I'm not sure if bonding to goretex is different, but when doing kite bladder repairs with aquaseal it makes a huge improvement if you wipe it with alcohol first. Maybe the bond you got is not all that great. If you do more over a bigger area, wipe it with rubbing alcohol first. I'm pretty sure the rubbing alcohol would not affect the goretex badly, but you might just google that to make sure I'm not giving bad advice!

Peter

foam-n-fibre wrote: I'm not sure if bonding to goretex is different, but when doing kite bladder repairs with aquaseal it makes a huge improvement if you wipe it with alcohol first. Maybe the bond you got is not all that great. If you do more over a bigger area, wipe it with rubbing alcohol first. I'm pretty sure the rubbing alcohol would not affect the goretex badly, but you might just google that to make sure I'm not giving bad advice!

Peter

I did wipe down the area with alcohol first. Didn't come across anything stating that it's not safe on Gore-tex.

nothing2seehere wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 1:31 pm

I haven't ever need to repair something like this but I'd go for the Goretex repair kits like this one:

https://finandgame.com/gore-tex-repair-kit/

You still have all the rest of the other leg area for breathability if you need it (though the breathability of my drysuit isn't amazing anyway but I'm not worried as long as I'm warm), the key is to stop the water getting through.

That's essentially what I'm using. I just didn't put the patches on since instructions say to put them on if you need a quick repair (apparently not needed if aquaseal is given sufficient time to dry) and it didn't come with enough patches to cover all the leaks. If I don't get any additional advice I'll probably expand the aquaseal area and then cover with the patches I have and some self-adhesive sail-cloth that a fellow kiteboarder sent me. I agree with you about breatheability not being a concern.

Thank you both for your feedback.

Not sure if you have already done the repair again but have had a think about it. Whenever I have re-glued the seals on kite valves, the key has been to be able to compress the glue so that you get rid of all the air bubbles in the glue. So the fabric patch seems like its there so that you can get a good air/water tight seal by compressing the glue between the patch and the layer of the suit.

I would pull the aqua seal off (probably not easy) so that you have a smooth surface, then use tear-aid type A to cover the areas with leaks. I had an old drysuit that the waterproof membrane started to deteriorate in a few areas, and that worked really well.

Had the same problem with the whole crotch area of my suit, caused by my board short harness leg straps stretching the area. I coated about a 8" square area on the inside with a vinyl adhesive. Not sure how long it will last however.

A seat harness will wear your crotch even faster, but a waist harness will also, in time.

The weak spot in a drysuit, always.

Repairing works only for a short while, it will get worn and leak just at the end of the repair...

Also, stitches will leak during time.

So unless it is in a non loaded area that needs a repair, you are better suited buying a new one

Peter

Peter_Frank wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:40 pm

A seat harness will wear your crotch even faster, but a waist harness will also, in time.

The weak spot in a drysuit, always.

Repairing works only for a short while, it will get worn and leak just at the end of the repair...

Also, stitches will leak during time.

So unless it is in a non loaded area that needs a repair, you are better suited buying a new one

Peter

Wasn't so much that it wore out as it stretched the material to the extent that the coating, ( assume that is what it was), micro split. I turned it inside out, pulled the legs up through the neck to create a bag out of it and filled it with water. The material was weeping water in the whole crotch area, not in any one defined spot. I only used it three times before this happened.

I have used aquaseal inside and out on my 10 year old Drysuit and it's still holding leak free.