I recently replaced the neck gasket on an old non-breathable drysuit and was surprised to discover that the Aquaseal that I accidentally slopped onto the fabric could, with a little effort, be peeled off. This leads me to wonder what adhesive is needed to attach a gasket if the attached edge of the original gasket has deteriorated completely? I tried some Aquaseal on some new GoreTex fabric and it seemed to adhere fairly well, but apparently not this other fabric.
Interesting… Were you applying
Aquaseal to the coated side of the non-breathing fabric? I did a gasket on an old, coated drytop, and the Aquaseal seemed to grab well.
Exterior
It was on the exterior which looks like nylon weave. The adhesion looked very secure, but then you could scratch at the edge with your fingernail and get it to start lifting.
DWR finish?
The Durable Waterresistant Finish on the fabric might be the culprit.
But when you glue a new gasket on you are creating a bond of many square inches of rubber/fabric interface. The “slop” has little area, so it is easier to peel off.
That’s my hypothesis and I’m stickin’ to it.
Check the Kokatat website for excellent directions for replacing gaskets.
Jim
I think it probably had
something to do with the water resistant coating thats applied to outside of drysuits. Aquaseal adheres very well to clean surfaces. Cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol before applying the glue should remove any contaminates that might interfere with the glues adhesion.
Clean the surface…
…with MEK or toluene to remove any contaminants or coatings and it will bond fine.