Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

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What do you use on your latex seals for care and ease of putting on?

"Love those shiny seals!" - Seal Saver
17
40%
"If it's good enough for a baby's bottom it will work for my seals!" - Powder of some kind
16
37%
"It's all good!" - Both on the same dive
2
5%
"You mean you're supposed to take care of seals?" - Nothing
4
9%
Other - (Please tell us below)
4
9%
 
Total votes: 43

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Tom Nic
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Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Tom Nic »

OK, so which is it? What do you use on your latex seals and why? What's your long term experience in caring for your latex seals?

I've heard people swear by (and swear at!) both Seal Saver and Powder. Would love to hear the collective wisdom of NWDC on the subject!
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thelawgoddess
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by thelawgoddess »

Both ... and put some conditioner on your hair at the last minute (if you've got long hair)!
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Grateful Diver
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Grateful Diver »

Powder on the wrists, seal saver on the neck (prevents that manly "Hang 'em High" look) ...

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spatman
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by spatman »

i'm pretty much exclusively using seal saver for neck and wrist.
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Maverick
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Maverick »

I like ky jelly or Astroglide. cheaper and works really really good. And hey if it's good enough for your whoha its good enough for your wwrists :evil4:
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Sounder »

Maverick wrote:I like ky jelly or Astroglide. cheaper and works really really good. And hey if it's good enough for your whoha its good enough for your wwrists :evil4:
You know, that's a really good point. If it's mild enough for your happy parts, and latex-safe, then it'd be fine for seals. Dude!! I'm putting a bottle of astroglide into my kit!! I bet it makes for good dive-site conversation too. :rr:
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thelawgoddess
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by thelawgoddess »

Remind me to never dive with Sounder. :smt119 :evil4:
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Pez7378
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Pez7378 »

Sounder wrote:
Maverick wrote:I like ky jelly or Astroglide. cheaper and works really really good. And hey if it's good enough for your whoha its good enough for your wwrists :evil4:
You know, that's a really good point. If it's mild enough for your happy parts, and latex-safe, then it'd be fine for seals. Dude!! I'm putting a bottle of astroglide into my kit!! I bet it makes for good dive-site conversation too. :rr:
Which is better to use, the Warming gel, Tingling gel or regular?

I just replaced a DUI Zippy neck seal. $150 :smt119
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Dusty2
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Dusty2 »

I have been using a jel lubricant for awhile now and it works great. (for suit seals) Especially for getting those wrists out of your suit after a dive which has always been diffacult with cuff rings. I bought a large bottle on sale at Castels but I put duct tape over the lables to avoid the wierd looks and sly comments. What more could you ask, latex safe, water souluable, and no worries about skin irratation like I got with seal saver. \:D/ \:D/
Last edited by Dusty2 on Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sounder
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Sounder »

Pez7378 wrote:
Sounder wrote:
Maverick wrote:I like ky jelly or Astroglide. cheaper and works really really good. And hey if it's good enough for your whoha its good enough for your wwrists :evil4:
You know, that's a really good point. If it's mild enough for your happy parts, and latex-safe, then it'd be fine for seals. Dude!! I'm putting a bottle of astroglide into my kit!! I bet it makes for good dive-site conversation too. :rr:
Which is better to use, the Warming gel, Tingling gel or regular?

I just replaced a DUI Zippy neck seal. $150 :smt119
I bet you wished you'd had a little KY when you got the bill for your neck seal!!
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60south
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by 60south »

I'm the "nothing" respondent. I've tried SealSaver (nice) and powder (okay). Haven't tried KY.

In the end, it didn't seem to matter what I used.

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Joshua Smith
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Joshua Smith »

I like seal saver.
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Maverick »

Dusty2 wrote:I have been using a jel lubricant for awhile now and it works great. (for suit seals) Especially for getting those wrists out of your suit after a dive which has always been diffacult with cuff rings. I bought a large bottle on sale at Castels but I put duct tape over the lables to avoid the wierd looks and sly comments. What more could you ask, latex safe, water souluable, and no worries about skin irratation like I got with seal saver. \:D/ \:D/
Funny i would have let the label showing and put it on my roof to get the weird comment :evil4:
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Biodiversity_Guy »

Johnson's baby (hair) conditioner. Goes on easily even if the seals are still wet. pump bottle.
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by thelawgoddess »

Biodiversity_Guy wrote:Johnson's baby (hair) conditioner. Goes on easily even if the seals are still wet. pump bottle.
See? Conditioner works!
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by oregondiver »

I have been using sealsaver on my scuba drysuit for many years. Only one neck seal replacement in the first 5 years (and 200+ dives including in contaminated water/biohazard areas). I am getting ready to require another neck seal replacement (this neck seal only lasted about 2+ years due to improper care after frustration with a few drysuit flooding incidents).

I have used sealsaver on my whiteater kayaking drytop for 5 years (usually paddled 1x per week minimum) before needing to replace it. I have been using sealsaver on my whitewater kayaking drysuit for the past 2.5 years and I still don't need a gasket replacement.

I know that us kayakers use sealsaver on our neck gaskets especially when we are kayak surfing in the ocean. It keeps away that garrote/hickey look when you go back to work the next day. Your neck doesn't scab up at all if you use seal saver (again for ocean/white water surfing, I can't guarantee your results with a dominatrix using leather).
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by flik83 »

is there anything special about seal saver then ky or astro gilde like a special item put in to it ?
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Pinkpadigal »

Seal saver is cheaper. A bottle will run you $4-5, and last for 1-2 years, depending on how you dive.
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Sounder
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Sounder »

Pinkpadigal wrote:Seal saver is cheaper. A bottle will run you $4-5, and last for 1-2 years, depending on how you dive.
Seal saver is cheaper than KY - the generic brands of KY are pretty dirt-cheap... plus, it's multi-purpose!! \:D/
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Tom Nic
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Tom Nic »

Some Random Thoughts: (BTW, thanks to all who have responded!!)

Very interesting! So far 14 for Seal Saver, 12 for Powder, 1 for both, 3 for other. Pretty evenly divided if you ask me, although an admittedly small sample.

Protecting and Conditioning: If Seal Saver really does protect and condition the seal, that sounds like a good thing and a reason to use the product. I've been using Seal Saver exclusively for the last dozen dives or so on new seals, and it seems to work well - as far as getting the seals on, so we shall see. I've been putting Seal Saver on every time I rinse and put away my suit, (actually as I pack my suit for the next dives) so at least once or twice a week. They are pretty and shiny, and look "OK", and it will remain to be seen if that is actually keeping the seals from deteriorating.

Ease of Donning: The main reason I've used powder in the past is to make the seal "slide" on easier, thus not stressing the seal and risking tearing. It seems like the KY and Conditioner folks use their ingredient of choice for the same reason. I've been a bit concerned that the Seal Saver would only make them supple for the first dive and not for subsequent dives once they got wet, but that hasn't been an issue. If the KY and hair conditioner only makes it easier to put on and doesn't actually condition the sea itself that would be vote for Seal Saver plus your slider of choice?

And I've talked with divers who used powder for years (4 or 5) on the same set of seals and they lasted well. I used powder on seals through 300+ dives and it didn't seem to be a problem - although of course I didn't have a "control" set of seals that I was comparing it to. And I've talked with folks who said that powder "dries out your seals" and thus makes them wear out faster... although that doesn't sound logical to me - powder "drying out" latex? Not sure that's chemically possible? Hmmm...

My guess is that sunshine is more harmful to your seals than powder.

Well, after a few hundred more dives I'll have a comparison report on powder vs. Seal Saver. We shall see! \:D/
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by spatman »

one other quick note:

since using seal saver instead of powder on my neck seal, my skin doesn't get rubbed raw like it used to...

(pez, have you tried this yet?)
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Aquanautchuck »

I use baby shampoo on all my seals just before I dive. A 50/50 mix works great, seals slide over wrist and neck easy, stays for the whole dive and is real cheap. After the dive and suit is washed/dried, I powder with corn starch. Baby shampoo (generic) is like $.99 and corn starch is about the same. I figured if Zodiac tells me to use corn starch for my boat and not talc then they must know something I don't.
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Scubak »

I use the Fred Meyer brand of "personal lubicrant" and it is cheap...
Makes the donning of wrist seals and neck seals 'easy'...
A bottle/ or tube is cheap and was a hint given to me several years ago by a East Coast Wreck Diver...
Just make sure you get the latex friendly/ water soluable.
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by Pez7378 »

spatman wrote:one other quick note:

since using seal saver instead of powder on my neck seal, my skin doesn't get rubbed raw like it used to...

(pez, have you tried this yet?)
I forgot about this thread, and actually didn't see some of these later posts. Saturday, my neck was destroyed by my seal. It hurt so bad, and I knew I'd pay for it on yesterdays charter. Matt offered me his SEAL SAVER, and I have to say....

I'M A BELIEVER! They really should call it NECK SAVER! \:D/

So many people offered their wisdom and advice, and I just didn't listen. Mostly because of some negative reports I've read in the past about how it could damage your seals, suits etc. Since I've got the DUI Zip seals, I don't really have to worry about that.

I'm so happy I finally came around! Now people won't think I'm into that Kinky Autoerotic Asphyxiation stuff anymore!

Thanks to everyone who told me to use Seal saver, and thanks to Spatman for letting me try it out. It WORKS!
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Re: Seal Saver or Powder or ...??

Post by spatman »

thanks to Seal Saver, Pez will no longer look like Clint Eastwood's character in Hang 'em High.
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