My neoprene spray skirt picks up so much water in the exterior fabric that it takes hours to drip dry. And, it usually get me pretty wet after I get out of the boat. Has anyone tried Scotchguard or other water repellant on neoprene? Would the solvent, if any, hurt the rubber? How about other water proofer/repellant products, like Sno-Seal?
For that matter, wouldn’t wet suits be a lot warmer when you get out the water if they didn’t hold so much water in the exterior fabric which then had to evaporate in the wind? Thanks for any suggestions.
Never done it but id favor nikwax
or something more mellow rather than scotchguard.
Ask at a Dive Shop
When I have neoprene questions(most recently how to remove the stink from my booties)I ask at my local scuba diving shop. They know neoprene better than most paddlers I’ve met.
Slalom racers trying to shave every oz
will use sprayskirts with nylon on the inside only, because the outer layer sheds water rather than holding it. Some use Hypalon skirts.
Scotchguard will work somewhat, for a while. I do not recommend Nikwax or anything else which fills the weave, because it will weigh almost as much as the water.
NIkwax fills the weave?
Perhaps the paste wax would, but that is not for fabric. I am talking about spraying on tx direct. No weight at all.
Max I would spray in including carrier is about 3 ounces, after the carrier dries we are talking well under an ounce.
I have a very heavy large goretex shell with a very irrregular woven surface; the weight effects of TX direct are traceable only with a gram scale
Neoprene
You’re right – the fabric is a major source of evaporative cooling for a wetsuit exposed to air. Some wetsuits have smooth-skin panels(usually the chest and back) for that reason. The tradeoff is durability – the smooth skin has very little abrasion resistance, and it’s easy to start a tear if you snag it on something.