Freeing up stuck enclosure zippers

[Bob Bradley]

I finally had to remove my 3/4 enclosure this weekend. It's been in the boat since I bought it 3 years ago and as expected was quite difficult to remove. It has zippers all along the bottom edge and is constructed in 5 sections. As expected, the zippers would not budge. Too many years of salt and grunge combined with CT temps around 50 made for a real challenge.

I had a bit of a brainstorm and brought my steam cleaner with me. I used the pinpoint nozzle and blasted the zipper truck and all along the length of the zipper. I could see the steam blowing through the zipper. The combination of it's cleaning effect, warming, and whatever lubrication the water provided did the trick. All the zippers moved with minimal effort.

 

[SEVEN]

Put this lube between your thumb and forefinger and run it up and down each of the zipper teeth. It doesn’t stain and it keeps them easy to open.

 

[Lmcruiser]

A friend that has a marine canvas and sail shop in Miami recommended a very light coating of silicone spray on the zippers. Apparently works even in coastal areas with salt air and spray. But you need to get a version that is ok for plastics and vinyl. I got mine at Ace Hardware a 10 oz can of DuPont General Purpose Silicone Lubricant. I almost bout another brand of “marine” silicone spray until I read on label that it was not suitable from plastics etc. it does work and makes the zippers easy to zip and unzip. Has not seemed to bother binding if zipper or edge of Strataglass enclosures.