Wet Suit Glue/Dye

[defofthecrown]

Hey everyone,

I want to reinforce my wetsuit knees, but don't want to wait a week to order neoprene glue from a dive shop (none in my area). Can I use any household products like silicon or polysulfide caulks? Let me know if you've found something that works.

Also I wanted to dye parts of the suit that are red so the suit would be a uniform black. I purchased some 'RIT' dye, but it contains some sulfurous agent so it can't be used on rubber anyone had succes/tried with something else?

Thanks

 

[Seal]

This is probably going to sound stupid but..

I had some grey areas on my suit that I wanted black. I used a permanent marker pen( used for drawing ), they can be bought in a variaty of sizes, and it is very harmless to the suit. I used it for my snorkel as well.

However if the red areas are big it could take some time.

 

[defofthecrown]

Tried the permanent marker. It left a mottled look, not uniform, but I like it. I also found some good use for that dye. I had a neon yellow snorkel which was too garrish for spearfishing so I dyed it w/ black dye for 10min. and it turned into this great deep kelp-ish green/black depending on the light. I was very pleased.

I also test dyed an old swath of wetsuit and will check the rubber to see if there are any adverse effects.

On an aside where are you in DK, I lived in Glostrup for a few months and took classes in Kobenhaven and Roskilde.

 

[Griff]

this is way too late if you didnt want to wait a week for neoprene glue, but i recently glued some old car-tube rubber to the base of my booties to keep them from wearing out. i used contact adhesive. its the cheap yellowy stuff you apply to both surfaces and wait for 20 mins before sticking them together. i was a bit suspect using it because it can eat through foam (polystyrene and shoes) but i think neoprene is more rubbery, isnt it? so far (1 dive) they seem to be holding up pretty well, and it doesnt look like the glue has had any significant effect on the neoprene.
also, i've tried silicone before on my wetsuit and it didnt last too long.

cheers
Mark