How to repair Schoeller fabric?

[Greg_W]

I have a puncture-type hole in my Schoeller Dryskin pants (in the leg for you sick-minded bastards) and was looking for repair tips from anyone with such experience.

 

I was thinking about using a garden-variety iron-on patch and then reinforcing it with seam grip, or something.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Greg W

[allthumbs]

duct tape wanker

[Greg_W]

Did that, dry-humper. I'm looking for a more permanent fix.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

How big's the hole? If it's not too big you could just fix it with Seam Grip. Otherwise, either your iron-on patch with SG reinforcement idea would be good. Or you could just use some scrap nylon (presuming you have such at your disposal) and use SG as glue, and make your own patch that way.

 

You could also send them to DFA, and he will repair them for a nominal fee (beer money would suffice). Just wash that stank out of them before you send them.

[Greg_W]

One concern that I just thought of is the heat of the iron damaging the schoeller. Doesn't the iron have to be pretty hot for those iron-on thingies?

[allthumbs]

Doofus, Schoeller is woven material. Call Daniels Cleaners on Queen Anne Ave. just before you get to the counter balance. They should be able to reweave the hole lickity split. You may now kiss my butt.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Depends on the patch, prob'ly, although DFA would guess that most outdoor gear patches would have a pretty low-temperature glue on them. The Doctor had some waterproof/breathable iron-on patch material a while back that he used on a couple different garments, and it worked fine (nice and flexible, too). The key is to just be paranoid-careful with the iron, and just use the very edge at the pointy end so you're mainly just ironing the patch and not the Schoeller. You can also lay down a t-shirt next to the patch to sort of mask the rest of the Schoeller garment so as to minimize the chance of the iron frying the adjacent fabric.

[Greg_W]

Trask - Maybe, but I would prefer a bomber-type fix just in case the same thing happens again.

 

DFA - Thanks, you know I'm paranoid about everything. Lee Harvey Oswald was a stooge.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Greg, no problem, glad to help out a friendly gent such as yourself.

 

And if the iron gives you any shit, shoot the fuckin' thing and ask questions after.

[gregm]

i wouldn't think glue patching schoeller would work that well. i'd try to just "darn" the hole with a needle and thread. stitch threads across the hole in one direction, then weave more threads through those from the other direction. as done with socks in the olden days.

 

oh yeah. yo mama.

[Greg_W]

gregm (nice name, by the way ) - would you reinforce that darn job with seam grip? I've never used it, but I've heard it is the shizznit.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

What are you, on the crack? Seam Grip will fix anyfuckingthing you put it on. Bomber with a capital B. Anyway, you'd never get as good a result trying to weave your own fabric outta thread.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Greg, one more thing DFA thought of, since you mention never having used Seam Grip: don't glom the shit on too thick, or you'll wind up with a rather awkward lump of rubbery stuff where the hole is. Whichever method you use, moderation is key. Go with a super-thin coat to start with, and if it's not enough, you can always add another layer, but you'll never get the shit off if you apply too much the first time.

[gregm]

putting a little seam grip on there might hold it together. an amature darn job won't be pretty anyway. depending on where the hole is i would worry about it sticking to my leg though, since seam grip always seems to be perpetually tacky.

[offwidthclimber]

Seam Grip is the bomb. I used it to fix a decent sized L shaped tear in a pair of moonstone g-tex pants i have. 9 years and multiple washings later, the SG shows no signs of breaking down.

 

good luck.

[snoboy]

depending on where the hole is i would worry about it sticking to my leg though, since seam grip always seems to be perpetually tacky.

 

Try dusting it with corn starch, takes some of the sticky away.

 

Another point of view - don't bother with the patch unless it is in an embarrassing spot. I've got lots of holes in my schoeller, and they don't seem to get any bigger.

[Greg_W]

It's on the inside of my calf, so I'm worried about catching a crampon on it or something.

[allthumbs]

climb nude

[fleblebleb]

Yeah, or maybe just wear a parka if you get cold.

[mattp]

If your ski technique is at all sloppy or if you walk around much with crampons on, you are going to continue to rip your pants in that area. In olden times, we used to wear gaitors but now they are considered too heavy for the one-day superalpine X-tream approach to climbing.

[COL._Von_Spanker]

Matt, Don't forget the essential duct tape gaitor reinforcement.

 

Everything these days is schoeller this and shoeller that, It's like it was with gore in the late 80's, and excuse to add a 400% markup. But I do see it's merits.

 

Here is an excerpt from a typical gear store conversation:

 

Customer: "Wow this seems like a nice pair of climbing pants, but why are they $260"

 

Sales Clerk: "It's schoeller dude"

 

Customer: "Oh I get it now, it's schoeller. By the way, does it come with a matching jacket"

 

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

X-treme alpinists only wear flip flops in winter. Tiddies brand

[fleblebleb]

Yeah, and use their car keys for self-belays.

[catbirdseat]

If I remember correctly, Schoeller is a blend of nylon, polyester and lycra. Only polyester has a high enough melting point to allow iron on patches. Iron on patches really have to be hot to stick well. Most patches are made of cotton because only cotton can take that kind of heat.

 

If the hole is small, I would simply darn it shut with needle and thread of matching color, then apply a gob of seam grip from the underside to seal it and make it waterproof.

 

If it is a tear, you have two choices: you can join the edges by overcasting by hand (better for a very small tear-this causes some puckering of the fabric), or you can sew a patch to the backside with a machine. If the patch is coated nylon, most of the water integrity should be maintained. You can then apply seam seal to the stitching.

 

I hope this helps. Ain't it a bitch when you poke a hole in brand new expensive pants?

[chelle]

Why use seam grip? Won't that part of the fabric be the only waterproof section. Schoeller is not waterproof...