WD40 is Rocket Science but a stuck Zipper isn't.

A forum member has recently come a cropper with an age old problem, a jammed zipper.

Try as they reasonably might, nothing so far has worked.

They unleashed WD40 on the pesky thing but imo this is not a good idea for several reasons.

As a boy I got interested in picking and repairing locks, all shapes and sizes and having taken apart many, I have found all sorts of lubricants used from butter to axle grease and yes WD40. The issue with these solutions as used on jammed zips is dust and other bits sticking, possibly making the situation worse.

Your off the shelf can of WD40 is not a releasing agent as such but a moisture, water displacer, ( it's what the WD stands for ) and not really great as a lubricant as it dries to quickly--and it reeks and pervades into material for some while.

If you have to use it on a stuck zip, remembering there aren't many moving parts to a zipper and unlikely to be water logged--if you must, spray some into the can top and apply a couple of drops with an eye dropper, a couple of drops is all that is required.

To keep zips lubricated, any type or colour, use the end of a candle, for very dark colored zips or surrounding material and a better solution, use a Carpenters Pencil, being quite firm, run it down the zipper 3-4 times.

The above should keep most zips in working order and bring back to life a seized one.

 

I agree about the pencil! Sometimes freezing is good at times to release stuck metal, but I am not familiar with a freezing spray product. I know that the compressed canned air used for cleaning computers and such of dust creates sub zero temps after a few seconds, so maybe try that, but I would be very careful about the surrounding fabric. Maybe test it on something first.

 

Hi Barbara,,

The spray you refer to is generically referred to as Artic spray.

It is used mainly to create ice plugs to enable connections into live running water mains/pipework and I'm very familiar with it.

Never use artic spray on anything vintage material related.

A stuck metal zipper requires expansion if anything, not contraction so use a blow torch---seriously don't use Artic Spray--or a blow torch.

 

I've used PAM.