Greetings all, Requesting some info regarding replacing gaskets on my dry suit. I have the Aquaseal and the gaskets but no Cotol to clean the old gasket prior to adhering the new gasket. I will be leaving the warm waters of the south to paddle some colder waters with no time to wait for the shipping time of the Cotol if ordered from a catalog. Is there another product I could purchase from the local hardware store that would perform the same cleaning job as the Cotol providing proper adhesion of the Aquaseal? Thanks in advance for advice *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
acetone is the preferred cleaner. my understanding is that cotol speeds up curing time of the aquaseal, but at the cost of making it somewhat brittle. either way it's not necessary for gasket replacemnet, just let the aquaseal dry overnight and you are ready to go -- george ruta - northcountry kayak **sea kayaks for upstate new york and new england** 518-677-3040, http://www.capital.net/com/nckayak > From: "Arthur Hebert" <seacajun_at_gs.net> > Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 19:31:40 -0500 > To: <PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net> > Subject: [Paddlewise] gasket replacement > > Greetings all, > > > Requesting some info regarding replacing gaskets on my dry suit. > > > I have the Aquaseal and the gaskets but no Cotol to clean the old gasket > prior to adhering the new gasket. I will be leaving the warm waters of the > south to paddle some colder waters with no time to wait for the shipping time > of the Cotol if ordered from a catalog. Is there another product I could > purchase from the local hardware store that would perform the same cleaning > job as the Cotol providing proper adhesion of the Aquaseal? > > > Thanks in advance for advice > > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"george ruta" <nckayak_at_capital.net> wote: > acetone is the preferred cleaner. my understanding is that cotol speeds up > curing time of the aquaseal, but at the cost of making it somewhat brittle. > either way it's not necessary for gasket replacemnet, just let the aquaseal > dry overnight and you are ready to go > Acetone is not the best thing to clean old gaskets with. Acetone is a simple ketone, and ketones are *not compatible* with urethanes. So while acetone would be OK to clean the surface of the old gasket that one hopes to adhere the new gasket to, one should be *very careful* to keep acetone away from waterproof fabric coatings - particularly urethane coatings. It would be awful to successfully glue in new gaskets, only to find that the acetone prep ate away the waterproof coating of the drysuit/top. Although Arthur didn't indicate what he was gluing gaskets into, please *****don't use acetone on urethane-coated fabrics*****. If you're not sure as to what the waterproof coating is, it's probably best to assume it's a urethane coating rather than run the risk of trashing an expensive piece of paddlegear. Given that most gaskets are glued to the inside surface of drysuits/drytops, the main contaminants to be removed are natural body oils. I'd suggest the tandem approach of first using dish detergent and water, followed by isopropyl alcohol as the final cleaning/drying agent. Buy the 90+% isopropyl alcohol rather than the 70% stuff, as the more concentrated alcohol will dry more quickly. And rest easy, knowing that urethane is *very* resistant to alcohols. Regards, Erik Sprenne chemist Arthur wrote: <<<<<< I have the Aquaseal and the gaskets but no Cotol to clean the old gasket prior to adhering the new gasket. I will be leaving the warm waters of the south to paddle some colder waters with no time to wait for the shipping time of the Cotol if ordered from a catalog. Is there another product I could purchase from the local hardware store that would perform the same cleaning job as the Cotol providing proper adhesion of the Aquaseal?>>>>>> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> i double checked kokatat's instructions, which say denatured alcohol, or > acetone, to clean. i'm curious - is acetone's negative effect on urethane > only while in direct contact, or does it set up some residual negative, > ongoing reaction? > Maybe what we have here is a case of theory and practice clashing head-on. Searching the internet for urethane and acetone will yield hits that indicate the incompatibility of ketones with urethanes, which demostrates the theory of acetone/urethane incompatibility. There was one link that explained how a urethane coating manufacturer uses MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone - acetone's next larger cousin) as a challenge agent for testing various urethane formulations. Another link for a manufacturer of O-rings presented a chart indicating acetone's incompatibility with many commonly used O-ring materials, including urethane. In practice, a quick swipe with an acetone-wetted cloth will should do not harm to a urethane-coated fabric, but extended contact is probably not a good idea. Another aspect of theory and practice is that urethane chemists can alter the urethane formulation in about a million different ways, allowing for the production of a urethane product that might be soft and flexible, or hard and tough enough to be cast or machined into a gear in some piece of machinery. Kokatat no doubt uses a good urethane formulation for their dry suits/tops, and feels that occasional use of acetone will do no harm. Do other paddlegear manufacturers use as good a urethane coating? Why take a chance? If there are alternate solvents that will do the job, why risk the use of a solvent that is known to adversely affect the class of material who's integrity is so important in protecting us from the cold and wet. Besides, acetone is a more volatile and nastier (healthwise, IIRC) solvent to use. My apologies for making it sound like acetone should never touch urethane. As with everything else, the gray areas are much larger than the black or white ones. Regards, Erik *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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