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how do u repair waders without ruining them

3463 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Gooseboy
so how do ya fix them without ruining them ive tried rubber cement and duct tape neither really any ideas for the problem
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Buy some new ones when the holes get too bad. :thumbsdown:
Cabelas has a product. It's packed away with my gear and don't want to drag it out. Give them a call they'll know.
hot glue stick and a lighter for in the field repairs. I think what tstrong
is referring to is Aquaseal. I don't believe it is a long term fix, but it will get the job done. (both aquaseal and the hot glue stick)
i have a cheaper way than all of that. get a plastic fishing worm. heat it up with a lighter and then smear it on the hole until you feel it is good enough. i learned this because i hunt a marsh with a lot of thorn bushes around it. i think i used 3 whole worms by the end of the season and my waders worked perfect with no leakage. and you can get the worms at any store, even the local walmart for under $2.

Hope i helped.

:thumbsup:
Ok......this is Repair 101 class. :mrgreen:
Spent ten years in the Corps. and part of my Aviation Life Support Specialist training (sounds impressive huh?) was repairing inflatables such as life rafts from one man to 20 man, emergency ditch life preservers for pilots and crew and giant red Gumby suits for cold water ditching made of the same stuff, neoprene, our waders are made of. This IS the proper way to patch these things. This can also be used on that micro-fiber denier stuff (rubber impermeated nylon). These directions do NOT always work on area's near or on a seam. If the repair was within 1 inch of a seam, the item was wrote off.
1. Clean the area with alcohol out to about three inches out from the hole or tear. (we used to use methyl ethal ketone until they told us it causes cancer, nice huh?)
2. Cut a patch that will fit to cover the hole by one inch in all directions. Round is best. We used fabric scissors, the ones with the teeth. Clean the patch with the alcohol, let dry.
3. Take the repair glue, GOOD rubber cement prescribed by the label to be used on your fabric, and brush the glue on the patch and the wader area. Try to keep the glue area on the wader the same size and shape as the patch. Let the glue set and get tacky.
4. Brush another LIGHT coat of the glue on both surfaces again. Wait about a minute then apply the patch to the repair area. Make sure you get all air bubbles out, use something to roll the patch area out. We had miniature rolling pins.
5. Sprinkle some light talcom powder on the patch and any glue that oozes from the rolling action. This helps the glue cure (Pulls the moisture and drying agents out) Roll it out more.
6. Apply some weight to the repair area. Keep the weight on the repair area and patch for at least 24 hours. We used a 10 lb. flat weight.

You can try this method or on neoprene you can clean the area of repair and put glue in the tear and squeeze it together and hold it until it will stay closed. That's the prescribed method by most manufactures of neoprene waders. The method I decsribed worked VERY well for us. I made repairs to items that upon them coming back to my inspection table 5 years later were still holding up.
:salude:
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I have to agree with the above but I use RTV or permatex gasket material and coat the patch with it and use a patch on the inside and out
duckweed said:
i have a cheaper way than all of that. get a plastic fishing worm. heat it up with a lighter and then smear it on the hole until you feel it is good enough. i learned this because i hunt a marsh with a lot of thorn bushes around it. i think i used 3 whole worms by the end of the season and my waders worked perfect with no leakage. and you can get the worms at any store, even the local walmart for under $2.

Hope i helped.

:thumbsup:
That's a great tip. My favorite worms are Zoom trick worms in either limetruse or methyelate. Red shad Culprits work good too. :toofunny:
buy a wader repair kit.
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