Overheard a contractor at Home Depot say something about zippers that stuck with me

Some guy was telling his friend that a YKK zipper outlasts the jacket if you wax the teeth once a year. I tried it on my 6 year old winter coat and the zipper that used to catch every time now glides smooth. Has anyone else done regular maintenance on random parts of their gear and seen it last way longer?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley8601d ago

Hold on a second... sewing machine oil on a Leatherman hinge isn't the best idea. That stuff is thin and can actually attract dust and grit over time, which'll gum up the works. You want a dry lubricant like graphite powder or a tiny bit of silicone spray for tools that get dirty like that. The wax thing on zippers is solid though, just use a plain old candle or beeswax and rub it along the teeth, don't need anything fancy. I've got a Columbia jacket from 2011 that still zips like new because I wax the teeth every fall before the weather turns... been doing it since my grandpa showed me. Just a heads up so your Leatherman doesn't start feeling gritty down the road.

miab161d ago

Yo that zipper thing is genius. I started putting a tiny drop of sewing machine oil on the hinges of my Leatherman every few months and it still opens like butter after 5 years of abuse. Never even thought about waxing a zipper though, definitely trying that on my rain jacket this weekend.