Zip lube

[slowworm]

I picked up a 2nd hand wool mix winter coat yesterday from a charity shop. It looks unworn but a quick Google suggests it's what they call vintage, i.e. a few decades old.

Anyway, it has a fairly fine metal zip that's a little stiff and as it's such a nice coat I'd like it to last. I think the zip could do with something to make it smoother to use but not sure what's best. I have the usual stuff about the place; various waxes, silicone oil, silicone grease, graphite, gun oils etc but is one thing better than the other or is there anything I should avoid?

 

[Mesquite]

Before spending out on various products try running a wax candle up and down the teeth a couple of times then work the zip back and forth

 

[rarms]

liquid soap is another good one

 

[matarius777]

A soft pencil lead (B or BB) run up and down the zip also works a treat.

 

[TLM]

I think all dry lubricants tend to stain the fabric as do oils. Fairly high melting point colourless wax would be my best bet.

 

[birchwood]

What Mesquite said or silicone gel . We use it on sail slides etc.

 

[JB101]

+1 for wax

 

[bonzodog]

I use gear aid zipper cleaner / lubricant.

 

[grainweevil]

For something non-staining and easy to remove again if needed, talcum powder might be worth a try.

 

[Robson Valley]

Candle wax. A couple of rubs. Invisible when compared with graphite lube.

 

[Chris B]

Napier, the gun care people, do a spray zip lubricant that's fabric friendly.

 

[Brizzlebush]

Yep I use a candle stub, works a treat on all zips.
It makes them really, er, zippy.

Sorry, I'll get me coat.

 

[gg012]

I either use candle wax or silicone lubricant spray, I find the latter works better on plastic zips

Sent from underground

 

[FerlasDave]

We use T-zip! Specifically designed for zip lubrication. Of course by we, I mean my wife.

 

[BumblingAlong]

The zip on my much loved Karrimor SF 1 keeps coming astray especially, it seems, as the weather gets damper.

The two sides of the zip will separate requiring the zip to be pulled back downwards towards the foot end before the point of separation then carefully rezipped up.

Any products or tips that might alleviate this increasing frequent occorance. It's getting colder, the zip has to be functional

 

[Pattree]

Is it parting at the same point each time? It just takes one damaged tooth and the slider will pull out sideways, then the zip totally fails.
That is more usual than a worn slider but there is little you can do to fix it in either case.
If you can’t see any damage it might be worth trying a new slider.
I have sewn the zip closed at the failed tooth on the door of one of my tents but the rest of the zip beyond the repair is unusable.

The zips on my tipi doors were useless. They were some kind of folded wire. They burst open in a gale. I bought a few meters of heavy duty zip and sewed it onto the canvas of the failed zip which I left in place. That was more than ten years ago and it has survived a gale that lifted the tent clear off me in the night.

 

[Woody girl]

The zip on my much loved Karrimor SF 1 keeps coming astray especially, it seems, as the weather gets damper.

The two sides of the zip will separate requiring the zip to be pulled back downwards towards the foot end before the point of separation then carefully rezipped up.

Any products or tips that might alleviate this increasing frequent occorance. It's getting colder, the zip has to be functional

Just this week, repaired a boot zip that did that. Try some long nosed pliers, and gently squeeze the rear of the slider together. Not too much, a bit at a time, untill it sits level on the zip again. Keep testing untill it meshes correctly without pulling apart. You don't want it too tight.
Make sure the zip is undone but still engaged at the bottom when you do it.
I'd zip my boot up, and as it came over the fattest part of my calf, it would pull apart. Did this, and it's perfect now.
Over time the pull on the zipper will pull it up off the track, so that it wont mesh properly and the zip will just come apart without the teeth meshing correctly. You just need to gently squeeze it back down.
I've had this problem on many old zips and needlessy thrown stuff away. It's such a simple mend. Wish I'd known it years ago.!