Zipper Repair

Quickly and Easily Repair Zippers That Won't Zip or Stay Zipped

© George Daleiden

Nov 27, 2007

Don't toss that expensive leather coat or purse just because its zipper is broken. Zipping a zipper all the way is an everyday activity few people ever think about, because it usually goes smoothly and effortlessly. But occasionally the two zipper halves refuse to interlock or stay connected, often because the small sliding device that marries the two sides of the zipper material is out of alignment.

Types of zippers and how they operate

There are two kinds of zippers:

• Open end, a.k.a. separating, such as the zippers on most coats and jackets. When closing a separating zipper, first one grabs the puller or pull tab with thumb and finger and moves the slider down as far as it will travel, until it hits the box and stops. Then the pin of the free half of the zipper is inserted in the slider until it is aligned and engaged. Then the slider is pulled up, which in turn forces the zipper's many teeth to interlock to create the chain--the continuous piece that is formed when both halves of a zipper are meshed together. Top stops--two fixed devices fastened to the opposite end of a zipper--prevent the slider from coming off the chain.
• Closed end, a.k.a. non-separating, such as are almost universal on pants and the backs of dresses. A closed end zipper has no pin, but otherwise closely resembles an open end style

When a damaged or worn slider does not push the chain halves together just so, the teeth are prevented from engaging one another. New slider tolerances are tight and precise to ensure proper closing action, but with repeated use and twisting a slight widening of critical slider gaps in two separate planes can occur. Often these gaps can be narrowed and proper zipping action restored.

Repair techniques

First, examine the slider from the side, as shown in the images below, Crimp Slider Down Views 1 and 2. If the gap appears to be wider than it should be when compared to a properly functioning slider on another similar zipper, using a pliers very gently crimp on the the two sections, as suggested by the red arrows, to slightly narrow the gap. Be gentle and don't squeeze the pliers too hard. It's better to crimp a bit and test the zipper action, and crimp again if necessary, than to torque down hard on the first try. If the crimping action causes the two sections to come too close together, and the slider jams, gently pry them apart just a trifle using a screwdriver blade.

If that adjustment doesn't fix the problem, and the slider tail has split (open) ends, gently crimp as suggested by the third image below, Crimp Slider Sides. Again using pliers, apply a small amount of joining pressure to the two "bottom" or tail halves of the slider, i.e., the end that is closest to the floor when normally starting to zip up a coat or jacket. Two crimps may be necessary: first nudge the sides that are closest to your body when you have the garment on, then adjust the two other halves. Again, it's best to err on the side of caution, and not over-crimp on the first attempt.

Once the zipper is closing correctly, rub a candle or a bar of paraffin wax on the zipper's teeth to lubricate them.

Unfortunately, if the slider is made of plastic, these techniques won't help. Only metal sliders can be adjusted in this fashion.

Crimp Slider Down View 1

Crimp Slider Down View 2

Crimp Slider Sides

Print Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds