Patching Air Bags

[yarnellboat]

Fixing them is easy. It's finding the leaks that drives me nuts!

P.

[jakke]

I fixed mine at the seam with aquasure. Put quite a thick layer on it. It held for 3 days, well inflated inside. Don't know how it will hold when there is more water pressure on it though.

[cheajack]

Aquaseal. End of story. You can even make fine cosmetic repairs of large tears by easing the patch material inside the bag and first putting a small amount of Aquaseal on the patch material along side the tear after you have it positioned inside the bag. Make sure you have wide margins on your patch material or you will glue your bag shut. Put a zip lock bag over the tear and stack some magazines or other weight on it over night. Remove the zip lock bag and put a bead of Aquaseal along the edges of the tear. As mentioned above, make sure it is flat so it doesn't run as it warms.

[eddyhops]

What is the best way to patch small holes on an air bag? I'm thinking Vinabond. What about patch material?

Vynabond or vinyl adhesive, scrap bag material, heat gun/hair dryer. All of my patches done this way have out-lasted the life of the bags.

[pblanc]

I have also used vinyl adhesive and a small patch of bag material for any holes larger than a pinhole.

Aquaseal has worked well for me for pinholes.

[hankrankin]

gorilla tape

[pmp]

i show an on the spot repair in my paddlepointers videos. Even had to use the trick again this summer.
paul
http://paddlepointers.com/home.html

[fishhead]

For fixing small holes during a trip or in camp between river days, I have found those peel-and-stick bike tube patches will work really well. You just have to get the area clean & dry. The patch kits are packed in a little plastic box about one inch square, have a half dozen patches and are really cheap.

For finding holes: I blow the bag up fully and then use a spray bottle to cover it with soapy water. The leak makes a trail of bubbles.