Hi,
The zipper on my boardbag is stuck with salt. I managed to get it going with the help of WD-40 and some teflon spray but can't go past the salt that crystalized on the links. The runner also feels pretty rough. Any ideas how to get rid of it? Should I just soak it in fresh water, lemon juice it or what not?
Ta
WD 40 doesn't disolve salt. Water does. So give it a good wash with water and that will at least get rid of the salt.
The trouble is, if the zipper slider is made of metal, (brass or diecast), and not plastic, then the salt corodes the metal away and it's sometimes impossible to get them to work again. It's common on sail bags and wetties. I've wrecked a few trying to get them free.
It's not salt. It's corrosion. Salt will rinse off with warm water. Corrosion won't.
Take you board bag to a place that does baggage repairs. They will replace the slider for about $10. Some shoe repairers and sail makers do it too.
There's no need to pay a fortune. Specialist outdoors repairers will charge $50-60. If they want more than $10-20 for a slider then go somewhere else (unless you can't be bothered). I found my guy in the Yellow Pages web search.
If it's not a spiral zip ask them to put a plastic slider on. Problem solved forever.
