tiny airleak

[petethebass]

i found the tinyest of airleaks yesterday after noticeing over several days a small drop in pressure on the tube ,it barely put bubbles in the soapy liquid ,but it was there ,the thing is its in the worst possible place the seam near the floor right at the front section i dont think i can get a patch on it ,, is there anything i could put on /paint on the seam area to stop it , gratefull for any help thanks

[Landlockedpirate]

Try Aquasure, worked really well on the outside seam of an airdeck I had that was unpatchable.

[petethebass]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Try Aquasure, worked really well on the outside seam of an airdeck I had that was unpatchable.

many thanks ,will check it out

[S4Simon]

Pics would help.

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Try Aquasure, worked really well on the outside seam of an airdeck I had that was unpatchable.

+1 for this have used it too

[petethebass]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

+1 for this have used it too

cheers nick

[petethebass]

a stupid question but is it better to partial inflate the boat ,put the aquasure on ,then deflate ??

[Nick Hearne]

I used it on a very small hole in a seam, worked it in with a paper clip deflated then put a blob on the hole and with pump sucked out the air in the tube to suck it in to the joint, worked for me.

[jyasaki]

Aquasure seems to be the export version of McNett's Aquaseal (though they sell a variety of similar products - SeamSeal, etc. They're all Polyurethane adhesives of different consistencies.)

For applications where you need a thinner consistency, McNett sells a thinner/cleaner/accelerator called Cotol 240. Normal mix is something like 10:1 adhesive to Cotol, but I've found you get better penetration with a mix more like 1:1 or even 1 part adhesive to 2 parts Cotol (thin mix is good for jobs like diving BCD repair, where you need penetration into the nylon weave so the repair doesn't peel off later.) It also leaves a much thinner repair (straight Aquaseal looks like someone dripped snot on the area; the thinned repair is more tape-looking.)

Cotol is, I believe, primarily MEK, with a little bit of some other stuff thrown in; it's also expensive. I have used straight MEK in place of it (emergency repair kind of situation), don't recall there being any profound difference. But since I have a large can of Cotol, I don't have to rely on that. YMMV, but I'm reasonably sure there aren't any adverse effects. Worst case is you won't get the accelerated cure you get with Cotol (an hour vs 24 hrs.)

If you do decide to search out Cotol be aware there are two different formulations sold as the same product: A "straight" version (clear liquid, sold in the US in a 4 oz mini-paint can, or a quart steel screw top can), and a "thickened" version (milky fluid, sold in a 1/2 oz glass bottle with screw top with a brush; usually sold with a tube of adhesive in a blister pack.) From my experience, the thickened stuff is pretty useless.

Just some info from my experience;

jky

[petethebass]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Aquasure seems to be the export version of McNett's Aquaseal (though they sell a variety of similar products - SeamSeal, etc. They're all Polyurethane adhesives of different consistencies.)

For applications where you need a thinner consistency, McNett sells a thinner/cleaner/accelerator called Cotol 240. Normal mix is something like 10:1 adhesive to Cotol, but I've found you get better penetration with a mix more like 1:1 or even 1 part adhesive to 2 parts Cotol (thin mix is good for jobs like diving BCD repair, where you need penetration into the nylon weave so the repair doesn't peel off later.) It also leaves a much thinner repair (straight Aquaseal looks like someone dripped snot on the area; the thinned repair is more tape-looking.)

Cotol is, I believe, primarily MEK, with a little bit of some other stuff thrown in; it's also expensive. I have used straight MEK in place of it (emergency repair kind of situation), don't recall there being any profound difference. But since I have a large can of Cotol, I don't have to rely on that. YMMV, but I'm reasonably sure there aren't any adverse effects. Worst case is you won't get the accelerated cure you get with Cotol (an hour vs 24 hrs.)

If you do decide to search out Cotol be aware there are two different formulations sold as the same product: A "straight" version (clear liquid, sold in the US in a 4 oz mini-paint can, or a quart steel screw top can), and a "thickened" version (milky fluid, sold in a 1/2 oz glass bottle with screw top with a brush; usually sold with a tube of adhesive in a blister pack.) From my experience, the thickened stuff is pretty useless.

Just some info from my experience;

jky

wow thanks jky thats very informative ,i have just soaped lol every seam & theres just the one bubble so im happy ,nothing too serious ,thanks to all who gave me advice much appreciated ,cheers pete