O. T. -- Zippers

I have a couple nice jackets (1 of them is leather) that the zippers come open from the bottom. Does anyone know of a trick to repair such a problem. I've tried to find someone to replace the zipper in the leather jacket, but no one wants to touch it, or they want to charge enough to buy a new jacket. It was my Dad's jacket (and a nice one, too) and I really want to be able to wear it.
Good Luck and God Bless
 
We've got a western store which also does all king of leather work and etc. They can do about everything, but sometimes costly. Just have to judge the price to the value of item repaired. Most boot and shoe repair shops will repair zippers and etc. Once they pull apart you might as well forget any kind of repair, they are just shot.
 
Try a local shoe repair shop. The problem is usually the first few teeth that the slider engages. The shop I went to replaced the slider and removed the first few teeth from the zipper. Very reasonable.
 
According to my seamstress sister:

If the zipper comes apart while its zipped up, the zipper is just plain worn out, and there's no solution short of a new one.

If its just happening when you unzip it and get to the bottom, its usually because the fabric supporting the zipper has become so old that its lost its "body", and allows the thingee at the end to flop out of the way when the zipper mechanism hits it as you unzip. About the only solution is unzip it VERY carefully, and hold the bottom thingie in one hand while unzipping with the other, to make sure you don't unzip too far.

Would like to placate the OT Patrol by tying this to tractors, but I'm coming up empty- no, wait- If your canvas cab or Weatherguard or Heat Houser has any zippers, you might want to take heed! There.
 
Best zipper money can buy today or at least I am aware of, is "YKK". Now maybe there are others or was in the past as the U.S. did have the best at one time. I do know they are quality from years of use and this is a 2 fold company, reminds me of Kohler, who does plumbing fixtures and engines, they, YKK also has an architectural product company, I have bought and installed their products, good quality, the kicker is they are a Japanese outfit, but remind me of our good ole U.S. made quality of the past. Kind of like a rice grinder bike, reliable well built, good performance, but some people dislike them because of where they are made.


Most clothing products will have YKK zippers, at least decent quality products, seems they have a good market share.
Untitled URL Link
 
Tandy leather handles some zippers,most any place you can order leather can get them. Might try an upholstery shop to see if they will do that work. It doesnt take a PHD to take out a zipper and put a new one in,but some places want you to pay for the cost of their education.lol
YKK is about the best zipper avail today,so googling that should come up with places where you can buy the right length.
Hope this helps,
LOU
 
Take a pair of pliers and gently nudge in the edges at the bottom of the slider, to pull the teeth closer together. It just takes a little bit. Then close up the inside to outside slightly (as the zipper teeth are in the you can't really go too much.

Ex-Scoutmaster who has fixed many tents and sleeping bags- BTW a little parafin on the teeth will help a lot.
 
often times its the slide that is worn out I have replaced the slide on severial items remove the stops on the zipper and slide it off canablize same size from another garmet pocket or go to thrift store and find one slide it on and sew thread around top for a stop so zipper wont slide off
 
(quoted from post at 08:44:27 02/19/13) I have a couple nice jackets (1 of them is leather) that the zippers come open from the bottom. Does anyone know of a trick to repair such a problem. I've tried to find someone to replace the zipper in the leather jacket, but no one wants to touch it, or they want to charge enough to buy a new jacket. It was my Dad's jacket (and a nice one, too) and I really want to be able to wear it.
Good Luck and God Bless

From the description of your problem, it sounds like your zipper slide needs to be tweaked or replaced. Squeezing your slide has been described above. If that doesn't correct the problem, you need to replace your slide. First you will have to identify it by size and manufacturer. There may be some info on the zipper pull. I assume the zipper in the leather jacket is metal. You may still be able to buy a new slide. Look at the top of your zipper for zipper stops. If you remove the zipper stops or whatever stops your slide from traveling off the zipper, the slide can be removed. Install another slide and install new zipper stops. Use needle nose pliers to crimp them on.

There is a good web site with zipper info that may be of help to you. There are also some You Tube videos on repairing zippers. If you can't buy a new slide, you'll have to locate a donor garment. The frustrating part of zipper repair is acquiring the parts. Once you work your way through the repair you'll be surprised how easy it was. Hope this helps.

http://qualityzipper.com/
 
Does the zipper zip properly or does it not come together properly? If it does not come together properly it can be fixed by "adjusting" or replacing the slide as mentioned earlier. If it zips properly then comes apart later then the zipper itself is worn out and needs to be replaced.
 
I'm as thrifty as they come, but sometimes you just gotta shell out the cash. I had the zipper replacedin a good leather jacket of mine probably five years ago & I still wear the jacket every day. In fact the new zipper is better quality than the original. In a day when it costs over $100 to fill your gas tank new zippers aren't gonna be cheap either.

Glenn
 
Thanks for all the input. I did the squeeze therapy on the slide and hit the whole thing with some parafine, and it's working fine so far. I am still looking for someone to do a proper replacement at an affordable price.
 

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