leaking waders
- Thread starter Brian50
- Start date
Dry them and use aquaseal on the inside where the leak is. Once dry, turn them inside out spray with rubbing alcohol. The leak will show up darker. apply aquaseal to the affected spot and about a half inch around it in all directions. Use a Popsicle disposable or plastic knife to work the aquaseal into the leak and around it. It takes 24 hrs to dry. I think Simms has a youtube tutorial on how to do this which should help.
beadhead2
Well-known member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBI70sxYQKU
brookieaddict
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Wet wade, or get out the wader repair kit,follow the directions and go fishing. The worst thing that happened to mans ability to reason and think through a problem is YOU TUBE, imho.
lestrout
Well-known member
Yo Brian - what brand are the waders? If they are breathable, some brands that depend on hydrophobic surface coatings will benefit from refreshing with Revive-X. The capillary type leaks are similar to what happens if you put your finger on the underneath of tent roof during a rain: where the tent was not letting rain through, the point where your finger is will provide a route for the water to come through.
bigslackwater
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I'd shop for a new pair and save the leaky pair as your summertime waders (when you don't mind getting a little wet), or as a back up.
FiveWeight
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Find the leak. Dry them. Turn inside out. Go out and buy a can of this clear Flex-Seal you see on TV. Tape off the area so only the leak is showing through. Hit it with the Flex-Seal. Let dry and repeat 2 or 3 times. This is a product that works as advertised. Yes, yes it is not going to be breathable in that tiny little area but it will not leak. Good luck.
PennKev
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Goop will work for sure, but aquaseal is a superior product for wader repairs. I have patches done with both aquaseal and goop on the same waders and the aquaseal patches hold up much better. The goop starts to peel and flake off after a fair amount of use.
Foxgap239
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I agree, I have used nothing but aquaseal and have had exceptional results. The only bad thing about aquaseal is that no matter how well you seal the cap, it still hardens in the neck of the tube once you break the foil seal and I have to punch a hole in the tube to use it again. I've gotten good at knowing where to punch holes so I can use most of the tube. Most new waders I've purchased lately come with a very small tube of it and I've begun using them instead of the big tube.
All the major wader manufacturers use Aquaseal for sealing the seams when manufacturing them and also use it when repairing their waders. I've never had a problem repairing waders with it, except for the problem FG stated above ^
Bamboozle
Well-known member
Two bits of advice:
1. Check with the wader manufacturer 1st before attempting any seam repair. If the waders are under warranty, some manufacturers (Simms is one of them) will void the warranty if seam repairs are made.
2. If you use Aquaseal, wear latex or Nitrile gloves. The stuff is about impossible to get completely off your hands. You can use the gloves to apply product too.
3. Again if you use Aquaseal, get some Cotol-240 which is an accelerator and dramatically speeds up the curing process.
1. Check with the wader manufacturer 1st before attempting any seam repair. If the waders are under warranty, some manufacturers (Simms is one of them) will void the warranty if seam repairs are made.
2. If you use Aquaseal, wear latex or Nitrile gloves. The stuff is about impossible to get completely off your hands. You can use the gloves to apply product too.
3. Again if you use Aquaseal, get some Cotol-240 which is an accelerator and dramatically speeds up the curing process.
>> The only bad thing about aquaseal is that no matter how well you seal the cap, it still hardens in the neck of the tube once you break the foil seal and I have to punch a hole in the tube to use it again.>>
Do this:
1) Once you've finished using whatever portion of the tube of A-Seal you need, hold the tube so you can see the hole you made when you opened the tube. Now, give the tube a quick but gentle squeeze to aspirate the stuff back down away from the hole. This may take a couple tries to get the hang of it.
2) Re-cap the tube and put it in a quart zip-lock (if you're married and want to stay out of trouble..) and put it in the freezer. It will not harden while frozen if the cap is on fairly tight. When you want to use it again, take it out and leave it set at room temp for 15 minutes or so. You can probably shorten this thawing process up a few minutes by kneading the tube. Use as needed and remember to aspirate again and re-freeze.
This will be the end of your Aquaseal problem...
And for what its worth, I agree with Kev. A-seal is a far superior product to Goop for this sort of repair. You can thin Goop with toluene or xylene and it will work a bit better and cure a bit sooner. But the result is still inferior to Aquaseal.
Do this:
1) Once you've finished using whatever portion of the tube of A-Seal you need, hold the tube so you can see the hole you made when you opened the tube. Now, give the tube a quick but gentle squeeze to aspirate the stuff back down away from the hole. This may take a couple tries to get the hang of it.
2) Re-cap the tube and put it in a quart zip-lock (if you're married and want to stay out of trouble..) and put it in the freezer. It will not harden while frozen if the cap is on fairly tight. When you want to use it again, take it out and leave it set at room temp for 15 minutes or so. You can probably shorten this thawing process up a few minutes by kneading the tube. Use as needed and remember to aspirate again and re-freeze.
This will be the end of your Aquaseal problem...
And for what its worth, I agree with Kev. A-seal is a far superior product to Goop for this sort of repair. You can thin Goop with toluene or xylene and it will work a bit better and cure a bit sooner. But the result is still inferior to Aquaseal.
CRB
Well-known member
Time for a new pair. Don't wast your time repairing them.
gfen
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As someone who repaired waders until there was more surface space covered in patching material than there was original material, this stuff is useless.
And yes, I tried it. Inside and out. It wears off when you move. At most it'll buy you a day.
Goop is close enough to Aquaseal that I don't need to spend the premium for a "wader specific' product. Maybe you don't mind spending the money.
Shoe Goo is the same stuff, jsut thicker.
Silicon sealant works if you're bored and have a tube laying around, but will begin to peel back.
Enough duct tape will seal it, but will peel off the seams. Works for a hole patch, though, although eventually (especially if it's cold), it will fall off. Easy answer is just put more on top of what's there.
Don't forget to keep your last waders around for a steady source of patching material.
Goop is by far the cheapest, workable, solution. If it's actually your seams that are leaking, just apply liberally up and down in the effected area.
FiveWeight
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Been using it since its been on the market. Seals the leak and it works for me. You mileage may vary. I'll take whatever input I can get and discard what I don't need. Thanks for the info.
