Editing Wetsuit (section)

====Seam taping====
To deal with all these early sewing problems, taping of seams was developed. The tape is a strong nylon cloth with a very thin but solid waterproof rubber backing. The tape is applied across the seam and bonded either with a [[chemical solvent]] or with a hot rolling heat-sealer to melt the tape into the neoprene.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wetsuit stitching and seams explained in detail |url=https://surfing-waves.com/equipment/wetsuit-stitching.htm |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=surfing-waves.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Serong |first=Jock |date=April 28, 2018 |title=The Short History of Wetsuits |url=https://surfingworld.com.au/the-short-history-of-wetsuits/ |access-date=August 2, 2024 |website=Surfing World}}</ref>

With this technology, the suit could be sewn and then taped, and the tape would cover the sewing holes as well as providing some extra strength to prevent tearing along the needle holes.

When colorful double-backed designer suits started appearing, taping moved primarily to the inside of the suit because the tape was usually very wide, jagged, black, and ugly, and was hidden within the suit and out of sight.

Many 1960s and 1970s wetsuits were black with visible yellow seam taping. The yellow made the divers more easily seen in dark low-visibility water. To prevent needle holes from leaking, O'Neill fabricators developed a seam-tape which combined a thin nylon layer with a polyester hemming tape. Applied over the interior of the glued & sewn seam, then [[Annealing (materials science)|anneal bonded]] with a hand held teflon heating iron produced a seam that was both securely sealed and much stronger.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar Jain |first1=P. Ajith |last2=Sattar |first2=S. |last3=Mulqueen |first3=D. |last4=Pedrazzoli |first4=D. |last5=Kravchenko |first5=S. G. |last6=Kravchenko |first6=O. G. |date=2022-03-01 |title=Role of annealing and isostatic compaction on mechanical properties of 3D printed short glass fiber nylon composites |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214860422000070 |journal=Additive Manufacturing |volume=51 |pages=102599 |doi=10.1016/j.addma.2022.102599 |issn=2214-8604}}</ref>