Ok I put new wrists and neck seals / gaskets, washed and treated with NIKWAX. Now I noticed some of the seam tape has separated. Few ends about an inch long. One spot in middle of the seam about 6". I will inspect entire suit when dry inside out. So to repair what do I do? Do I use a thin layer of aquaseal? Is there an iron on tape? It’s a kokatat Expedition suit. Thanks
I had edges of tape peeling back a bit at the ankle/heel seam. I used aquaseal and it’s been holding up well.
@sparky961 thanks! I didn’t want to ship back to Kokatat for gaskets because I want to use it now. Like always I should have sent it in the summer for a redo. It says Cotol can be mixed with Aquaseal to thin it and set it faster. Also says brush it area to be patched. Package doesn’t say how much. Cotol accelerates set and thins it down I think?
That’s how I understand it. I’ve only done gaskets in two suits, but I’ve been very pleased with the results of both. I used the NRS video for reference and made forms from Minicel. The technique is very reliable. I used plain Aquaseal and did one at a time over three evenings. That’s a luxury professional shops don’t have, time.
mine came out great on the sleeves, perfect really. Neck has a little aquaseal that squeezed out not big deal but not perfect. I made things like Kokatat shows from wood. Just should have used less glue. I think I could of taken it apart and got rid of excess glue after 45 minutes.
Round minicell form would have been better in hindsight. Easier to avoid excess glue. I would have been able to tape it off and wipe it off. Just wish it came out like sleeves.
Now i need to cut thing rings off. I think that’s what I did before. My neck is 18" in a shirt to be comfortable. May be less now I dumped 30 lb.
Product Details
Use Gear Aid’s Cotol-240 to thin Aquaseal® Adhesive and accelerate its cure time. Also use it as a cleaner when preparing a repair area.
Mix 1 part Cotol to 3-4 parts Aquaseal.
The mixture will cure to tack stage in 15 minutes and cure completely in approximately two hours.
Cotol is an excellent cleaner of repair surfaces prior to application of the adhesive. Also use it for removal of adhesive, before it cures, from areas outside the repair.
Cotol-240 is also ideal for removing tar, sap, glue, and other resins from various surfaces including glass, plastic and metal.
I’ll think and repair seam in morning.
Looking at it today there are about ten spots where tape is coming off. Think I’ll call kokatat today.
“That looks to me like a fixable issue. I would suggest sending in the suit for a warranty evaluation so our repair department can see if there’s anything else going on with the material and/or get it fixed up for you. Let me know if you need anything else.”
The above was kokatat’s response.
How old is it? If I had tape coming off like that, I’d have sent it in too. Mine was just a bit of the edges where ankles rub, so reasonable wear.
6 -7 years old. Ankle tape was perfect. I sent about a dozen pictures to show condition of suit inside and out. Outside looks like new everywhere. Never wash in machine only in sink by hand by me for 25 minutes.
