Anyone ever DIY zipper repair?

[paulthenurse]

Hey all,

My dry suit zipper has been fraying at the edge of the fabric and threads are getting caught in the teeth and causing (potential) problems. I want to take an electric cautery iron and VERY carefully melt the edges of the seam. Other than the obvious potential problems, i.e. setting the whole damned thing on fire, does anyone have any experience doing this, did the melted nylon cause any problems and (most importantly) did it work?

FWIW, DUI charges around $250 for a new zipper. I'd rather not send it back to them during the summer when it gets used the most because if I do I'll want them to do a complete retrofit and put zip seals on the wrists and neck, add a pee zipper, maybe a pocket or two, so it would end up costing me a grand. That $1000 would buy a ton of beer or a few tanks of gas. Should be a simple choice if it's a simple repair. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Paul

 

[tbone1004]

call Steve Gamble, or Dive Right in Scuba, both are cheap, fast, and will save you a lot of headaches and a potential wet dive or six.

Gamble Scuba
services.php - Dive Right in Scuba

 

[divad]

They both charge more than $250.00.

 

[paulthenurse]

Finding someone to do the job isn't the issue. I know ton's of people who could replace the zipper. The thing is, the zipper doesn't need to be replaced, it's just fraying nylon threads that are getting into the teeth. If I can melt the nylon and seal the edge the problem will be gone.

 

[divad]

Finding someone to do the job isn't the issue. I know ton's of people who could replace the zipper. The thing is, the zipper doesn't need to be replaced, it's just fraying nylon threads that are getting into the teeth. If I can melt the nylon and seal the edge the problem will be gone.

Oh. Yeah just do that; melt the threads. The problem will be gone for a while, then repeat. You can't really seal the edge very well.

 

[tbone1004]

oh. well in that case a small butane pen torch and a bit of aquaseal....

 

[raftingtigger]

Oh. Yeah just do that; melt the threads. The problem will be gone for a while, then repeat. You can't really seal the edge very well.

My zipper is failing in the same way and I put a small amount of Aquaseal on the edges of my zipper. I'm hoping to get a few more dives (1 weekend) while setting things up to replace the zipper. Not sure it will work (tests OK now) for long. Each zip is one less in a downward spiral. There are several ways these zippers fail, and this is apparently one of the common ones. FYI, my spare suit is going on the trip with me.

PS. I don't think the threads will melt, and you are likely to hurt the suit itself if you get the temp hot enough. One way of putting in zippers is using a heat activated glue (PB300) and an iron for the heat.

---------- Post added July 9th, 2015 at 03:38 PM ----------

Hey all,

My dry suit zipper has been fraying at the edge of the fabric and threads are getting caught in the teeth and causing (potential) problems. I want to take an electric cautery iron and VERY carefully melt the edges of the seam. Other than the obvious potential problems, i.e. setting the whole damned thing on fire, does anyone have any experience doing this, did the melted nylon cause any problems and (most importantly) did it work?

FWIW, DUI charges around $250 for a new zipper. I'd rather not send it back to them during the summer when it gets used the most because if I do I'll want them to do a complete retrofit and put zip seals on the wrists and neck, add a pee zipper, maybe a pocket or two, so it would end up costing me a grand. That $1000 would buy a ton of beer or a few tanks of gas. Should be a simple choice if it's a simple repair. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Paul

I have a dead zipper that has been removed from the suit at my house. I can try the melting trick tonight and then post the results. My guess it is will burn and not melt, but I have several appropriate heat tools to experiment with (cautery loop, craft iron, pen torch, etc.)

 

[the_dragon_no1]

Yeah the threads dont really melt, they burn. I just cut and burn them down as they appear

 

[andrewy]

if you guys want to know how to replace zippers just ping me too long of a write up.

 

[raftingtigger]

I played with my dead zipper and a woodburning iron works pretty well and leaves a smooth melt. It is really easy to overdo it. The cautery loop is too hot, so would be a flame.

Andrewy, at least in my case it is a stopgap measure until I can install my Tzip.