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Unsticking Canopy Zippers


mark_s

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Hi

I don''t use my canopy much over winter and sure enough the zippers were stuck when I tried to use them about a month ago.

I sprayed a bit of WD40 on them and they freed up straight away. However the next time I tried to use them they seem to be stuck even worse. Tried the WD40 again but this time it didn''t work.

Anyone have any suggestions as to the best way to free the stuck zippers? Also has spraying WD40 made it worse?

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Hi Mark

Used to have the same problem with wet suit bootie zippers. Boiling water normally did the trick. On severe instances, we used a product called C.L.R.

. Purchase it at hardware stores and larger supermarkets in the household cleaning area.

I used a small artist paint brush to apply the liquid and have plenty of water on hand to wash off any spills.

The product contains sulfamic acid, so read the directions on the bottle.

Avoid the problem by opening the zipper about 20mm when storing the boat after the wash down at the end of the day. Allow it to dry for a day or two , then apply a lubricant like silicon spray or Inox to the last 20mm before you close it. This will stop the two alloy sections of the zipper reacting to any salt residue and corroding together.

Bill

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Mark,

Try lanoguard, available from most boat shops, I dont have a canopy, but it worked on zips on bags that end up in the boat and used to jam up badly.

Put a light spray all along the zip and work it in every now and then - stops things rusting up much better than anything else I know.

Adrian

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Mark,

Zippers are usually made of aluminium. When my son's boogey board bag got stuck I put vinegar on it. The vinegar is a mild acid. Acid + aluminium gets a chemical action going producing a salt and hydrogen I think. But that's not important. Wash the applied area out soon after (with warm water) after it comes free.

Wombat (worked for me)

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