How to Fix a Small Tear in a Wetsuit (September 2026)

I learned the hard way that a small wetsuit tear never stays small. The first fingernail nick I ignored on my old tri-suit grew from 3 mm to almost 4 cm in two sessions of pulling the suit off over my heels. That single mistake cost me a replacement suit. Learning how to fix a small tear in a wetsuit properly takes about 30 minutes of work and a 4 to 6 hour cure, and it can save you from a several-hundred-pound replacement.

If you only have time for the short version: clean the suit, dry it, open the tear, apply two thin coats of Aquaseal NEO 5 minutes apart, press the edges together until tacky, then leave it alone for at least 4 hours before you get back in the water. That is the method I have used on surf suits, freediving suits, and tri-suits, and it has never let me down. The full breakdown is below, with a tool comparison table, a decision guide for when to patch or sew, and the common mistakes that make repairs fail.

Quick Steps: Fix a Small Tear in a Wetsuit in About 30 Minutes

1. Clean and dry the suit inside and out, including the inside of the tear with isopropyl alcohol.
2. Trim ragged edges with small sharp scissors, then lightly sand the inside of the tear.
3. Apply a thin coat of Aquaseal NEO or neoprene cement to both sides of the tear.
4. Wait 5 minutes until the glue turns from glossy to matte and tacky.
5. Apply a second thin coat, wait another 5 minutes, press the edges together firmly for 30 seconds, and let the repair cure for 4 to 6 hours (24 hours is safer).

Tools and Materials You Will Need

Most of the kit fits in a small zip bag and lasts for years. I keep mine in a shoe box with the rest of my surf and dive gear, and I have used the same tube of Aquaseal NEO on three different suits over four seasons.

The essentials are a flexible neoprene cement, a way to apply it thinly, something to trim and roughen the tear, and a clean cloth. You will also want a flat surface, a weight or clothespin to hold the seam closed while it cures, and a well-ventilated workspace because the solvent fumes are strong.

• Aquaseal NEO Neoprene Cement - the industry standard flexible wetsuit glue.
• Small sharp scissors or a craft knife - for trimming ragged edges.
• Fine-grit sandpaper (400 to 600 grit) - to roughen the inside of the tear for a better bond.
• A disposable brush or the tip of a straightened paperclip - to apply thin coats of glue.
• Isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth - to clean and degrease the area.
• A clothespin, masking tape, or small weight - to hold the repair closed during cure.
• Optional: Tenacious Tape neoprene patch - for tears longer than about 1 inch.
• Optional: nylon thread or dental floss and a curved needle - for high-flex zones that need stitching as well as glue.

Closed-Cell vs Open-Cell Neoprene: Why It Matters

Most triathlon and surfing wetsuits are made of closed-cell neoprene, which has a smooth nylon liner on both sides and a sealed rubber foam core. Open-cell neoprene, common in spearfishing and freediving suits, has a bare foam surface on the inside that feels like a second skin. The repair method is similar, but open-cell suits absorb glue much faster and usually need a thinner, more watery contact cement rather than the thicker Aquaseal. If you are not sure which one you have, look at the inside: shiny and smooth is closed-cell, rough and grippy is open-cell.

Adhesive Comparison: Which Glue Should You Use?

I have tried all four of the products in this table. For a small tear on a standard closed-cell suit, Aquaseal NEO is the clear winner. The other options have their place, especially for large patches or open-cell repairs.

Product	Best Use	Dry Between Coats	Full Cure	Flexibility When Cured
Aquaseal NEO Neoprene Cement	Small to medium closed-cell wetsuit tears	5 minutes	4 to 6 hours (24 ideal)	High - stretches with the suit
Aquaseal FD Flexible Cure	Fin slices, booties, dry suit repairs	10 to 15 minutes	8 to 12 hours	Very high - similar feel to NEO
Contact Cement (water-based neoprene)	Open-cell spearfishing suits, large seams	2 to 5 minutes	24 hours	High - softer hand than Aquaseal
Tenacious Tape (neoprene patch)	Outer reinforcement over a glue patch	Immediate bond	24 hours for full adhesion	High - works as a backing

Superglue, E6000, silicone sealant, and Gorilla Glue are not suitable. They cure too stiff for the way neoprene stretches, and they will crack or peel within a week. Stormsure, Black Witch, and Waihana neoprene cement are all reasonable alternatives to Aquaseal NEO and use similar chemistry.

Step 1: Clean and Dry the Wetsuit Thoroughly

Skip this step and the repair will lift within a few sessions. Salt, sunscreen, body oils, and wax all stop neoprene cement from bonding, so the inside of the tear must be chemically clean, not just dry to the touch.

Rinse the whole suit in fresh cool water first, then turn it inside out so you are working on the inside surface. Wipe the area around the tear and the inside of the tear itself with a cloth dampened in isopropyl alcohol. Let it air dry completely, ideally for an hour or two out of direct sunlight, because UV degrades both glue and neoprene over time. If you want a deeper clean before any of this, see our full wetsuit care after use guide.

Step 2: Prepare the Tear

A ragged tear will not seal cleanly, so trim it. Use small sharp scissors to cut away any loose fibres or frayed neoprene around the tear, leaving a clean edge about 1 to 2 mm back from the actual opening. The goal is a tidy slit, not a bigger hole.

Then very lightly sand the inside of the tear and a few millimetres around it with fine sandpaper. You are not trying to remove material, just to give the glue a slightly rough surface to grip. Wipe away the dust with your alcohol cloth and let it dry again.

If the tear is on a high-flex area like behind the knee, inside the elbow, or across the crotch seam, plan to stitch it after you glue it. Stitching alone will not make it watertight, but it carries the load so the glue does not get stressed every time you move. Dental floss or waxed nylon thread works well for this.

Step 3: Apply Neoprene Cement in Two Thin Coats

This is the step where most home repairs go wrong. The temptation is to squeeze out a thick bead and slap it on, but a thick coat stays soft in the middle, cures slowly, and turns into a hard ridge that cracks when the suit flexes. Two thin coats cure to a flexible, almost rubbery bond that moves with the suit.

Open the tear gently so you can see the inside surfaces. Dip a small brush or the tip of a straightened paperclip into the Aquaseal NEO and apply a thin, even coat to both sides of the tear. Cover at least 5 mm of neoprene around the edges. Let it dry for 5 minutes. The glue will change from glossy wet to a matte, tacky finish.

Apply a second thin coat the same way and wait another 5 minutes for it to go matte. Now the surfaces are ready to join. If you are applying a Tenacious Tape patch on top of the glue for a longer tear, do it during this second coat window so the patch bonds to fresh adhesive.

The Blueseventy guide recommends the paperclip applicator trick for tiny fingernail nicks under 5 mm. Bend a paperclip into a tiny scoop, dab it into the glue, and tap it against the edges of the nick. It is fiddly the first time, but it wastes far less glue than a brush on a small repair.

Step 4: Join the Edges and Press Firmly

When the second coat is matte, carefully align the edges of the tear. Press them together with your fingertips and run your thumb along the seam with firm, even pressure for about 30 seconds. A small bead of glue should squeeze out along the seam; that is a good sign that you have used enough but not too much.

Hold the seam closed with a clothespin, a piece of masking tape, or a small flat weight for the first 10 minutes of cure. Do not stretch or pull the area during this time. If you stitched the tear first, the stitches will hold the alignment and you only need light pressure.

Wipe away any excess glue with a dry cloth before it fully cures, because cured Aquaseal is almost impossible to remove cleanly. A tiny smear on the outside of the suit is cosmetic only and will not affect the repair.

Step 5: Cure Time: When Can You Use the Suit Again

Most repairs fail because the suit goes back in the water too soon. Aquaseal NEO feels dry to the touch within an hour, but it is not fully cured. A full cure is what gives the bond its strength and flexibility.

Stage	Time	What You Can Do
Tacky to touch	10 to 15 minutes	Remove clamps and weights, leave the suit flat
Handleable	1 hour	Move the suit, but do not flex the repair
Water-safe	4 to 6 hours	Light pool or lake session if needed
Fully cured	24 hours	Normal use, including surf, dive, or triathlon
Maximum strength	72 hours	Highest bond strength for high-stress areas

If you can, wait the full 24 hours before you get back in the water. The repair will hold if you have to go sooner, but a 4 to 6 hour cure is the minimum I would trust.

When to Patch Instead of Glue, and When to Sew

Glue is not always the right answer. Here is the rule of thumb I use, based on a combination of the Triathlete wetsuit guide, Quiksilver repair guide, and forum feedback from spearfishing.world and scubaboard.

Tear Size and Location	Best Method	Why
Under 5 mm, anywhere	Glue only (Aquaseal NEO)	Cleanest repair, no patch needed
5 mm to 2.5 cm, low-flex area	Glue only	Bond is stronger than the surrounding neoprene
2.5 cm to 5 cm, any area	Glue plus interior Tenacious Tape patch	Patch carries the load, glue seals it
Over 5 cm, low-flex area	Patch plus glue plus stitching	Reinforces a major failure point
Any size, high-flex area	Stitch first, then glue	Stitches carry flex load, glue seals seam
Over 12 cm or major seam blowout	Send to a professional	DIY repair unlikely to be watertight or durable

Sewing a Wetsuit Tear

Yes, you can sew a wetsuit, and for high-flex zones it is often necessary. The Inertia and Quiksilver guides both describe the same technique: use a curved needle and waxed nylon thread or dental floss, and sew a simple running stitch or blanket stitch across the tear before you glue. The stitches do not need to be pretty. They are there to hold the edges in place so the glue can do its job without flexing apart.

Do not use cotton thread, which rots in saltwater, and do not pull the stitches tight. Neoprene needs to be able to stretch, and tight stitches will tear through the surrounding material as soon as you move.

Patching a Larger Tear with Tenacious Tape

For tears longer than about 2.5 cm, an interior Tenacious Tape patch turns a marginal repair into a long-lasting one. Cut a patch 2 cm larger than the tear on every side, round the corners so they do not peel, and stick it to the inside of the suit over a fresh layer of Aquaseal NEO. Press firmly for 30 seconds, then cure as normal.

Tenacious Tape is also the only DIY option for a quick field fix when you do not have time for a full glue cure. It will not last as long as a proper Aquaseal repair, but it will get you through the rest of a session. The same approach extends to wetsuit boots and the small fin-sliced tears you often see along the ankle seam.

Common Mistakes That Make Wetsuit Repairs Fail

Most of the failures I have seen in forum threads on Reddit r/surfing, r/triathlon, and r/Spearfishing come down to one of these.

• Gluing a wet or dirty suit. Salt and oils stop the bond from forming. Always clean with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry fully.
• Skipping the second coat. One coat looks fine but is weak. Two thin coats are 3 to 4 times stronger than one thick coat.
• Joining while the glue is still glossy. If the cement is wet rather than matte and tacky, the bond is weak. Wait for the colour change.
• Using super glue, E6000, or Gorilla Glue. These cure too rigid for neoprene and crack within days.
• Going back in the water too soon. A 4 to 6 hour cure is the minimum, and 24 hours is much safer.
• Duct tape as a permanent fix. It holds for a session, but the adhesive melts into the neoprene and ruins the area for any future repair.
• Re-tearing at the edge of a previous patch. Round the corners of any patch so there are no sharp edges to lift.

One last pro tip from the forums: if you only use a little Aquaseal from a tube, wrap the cap in cling film before you screw it back on, or store the tube in the freezer. Solvent-based glues harden in the tube once opened, and a frozen tube can stay usable for a year or more.

How to Prevent the Next Tear

A wetsuit that is treated well will outlast three that are not. The single biggest cause of small tears is rough donning and doffing, especially fingernails catching the inside of the suit as you pull it on. White cotton gloves, the kind surfers wear for waxing, are an easy fix and a common recommendation in the Blueseventy guide.

Rinse the suit in fresh cool water after every session, especially after saltwater, and store it on a wide plastic wetsuit hanger in the shade. Hanging on a wire hanger stretches the shoulders, and direct sunlight degrades both the neoprene and any glue you have applied. A monthly wash with a dedicated wetsuit shampoo keeps body oils and bacteria from breaking down the seams.

If you are choosing between a wetsuit and a dry suit for colder water, our wetsuit vs drysuit comparison walks through the trade-offs in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions