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Help with stiff zips!

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I got a new pair of bullson motorbike boots the other week :). They're ace! Anyway, problem being, the zips are incredibly stiff on them, and it might be just me, but they seem to be getting stiffer not more supple, as you'd expect after use. The boot itself is made from a combination of a sheltex membrane on the inside (like goretex) which is attatched to a stiff leather on the outside. There are reinforcing bits of... polymer I think in the heel, toe and ankle. There the toughest velcro ever on the top half of the boot which is a bitch to pull off.

But anyway. The zip, which is under the velcro, takes immense amounts of strength to push up and down! :( I knew it would be stiff, but it literally pulls your skin off before budging. I dont think its a manufacturing error though because its stiff on both boots (a bit stiffer on the right one). Its so bad that when my foot is in the boot, I cant do the zip up, even with extra help! In the shop I managed to get them on fin though, so its a source of much annoyance.

I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about stiff zips and if theres any way to make them work easier? A bit of talcum powder perhaps? lol. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, let me know, cos its annoying not being able to do them up. I spent £90 on them because my other laced boots took so long to do up!! I thought these would be easy :crying:

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Take the zip to the top and put a drop of oil on the zipper, and a few drops down the actual zip itself.

    It's worth double-checking that you haven't caught any of the fabric in the zip - once it gets caught in there, it pulls it over the the rest of the zip travel, making it damned hard to move it up and down :).

    I'm lucky - my boots are velcro and buckles. My textile trousers go over the outside, and are then zipped and with a velcro tab. :)

    What bike you got?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wd40/GT85/PTFE is your friend.

    Spray the zip up and down thoroughly, and as the previous poster suggested a drop of oil won't go wasted. After that, spend a minute or so zipping the zip up and down until it moves freely. However, bear in mind that if the zips are stiff, chances are that it is for a reason (In case they come off in a crash?).

    See, this is why i didn't get a motorbike like all my mates and got my driving licence instead :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I seemed to have fixed it a little, when im not wearing any socks etc. If I 'cup' the ankle portion of the boot so the zips line up and then start to zip, it goes up ok. If you just try to zip it without doing this, when its halfway up the rest of the zip bends outwards, making it impossible to pull up! Ill see how it goes and will try the oil / wd40 tip :)

    click to see - I've got a honda cg 125 :p lol. I hope to get a bigger bike next year though, a sports tourer. Thinking of a fazer or a bandit, but the bandit is putting me off because of a lack of fairing. And also the fuel economy on it (from what ive read) is almost as bad as a car!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ahh... the good old CG125. Nice bike :). I've only ridden one a handful of times - did my DAS earlier this year, and had to use one in the carpark for around an hour before getting moved up to something bigger.

    Ignore most peoples comments on fuel usage. Most big bikes will give you 40mpg+ with little effort. I've got a VFR750 and struggle to get below 45mpg with lots of town use.

    Magazine riders rank the nads off the bikes, so the economy always looks very poor. Most owners never bother to measure their economy accurately, so take their comments with a pinch of salt :).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wd40 works on everything
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ^Not true. Whilst it may help movement in the short term, it will attack and solidify proper oil. Spray some WD40 into a lock or something to help free it off by all means, but bung some oil in afterwards else you'll be exactly where you started.
  • Dr PirateDr Pirate Posts: 8,303 Legendary Poster
    Mum always says, rub a pencil up and down a new/stiff zip and it'll soften it... or something.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wd40 works on everything

    Not on the rails of inkjet printers ... for that you need something like sewing machine oil
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    WD40 is great - it'll work its way around gubbins and leave something of a coating, thereby helping to re-enable movement of siezed parts. But as a lubricant, it's pretty pitiful - it evaporates very quickly, leaving the now moving parts to move without lubrication. A small drop of light oil is great when applied to moving parts - it doesn't evaporate, it'll cling to the surfaces(somewhat), and provides real lubrication.

    Even a drop of oil from the dipstick on your car will give a more long-term solution than WD40. I'm a huge fan of WD40, but it really isn't any kind of long-term lubricant.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Dr Pirate wrote:
    Mum always says, rub a pencil up and down a new/stiff zip and it'll soften it... or something.

    It'll line it with a fine coating of graphite - which is surprisingly good at overcoming friction :). Many greases available contain graphite...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its a lubricant which contains graphite. I've always found it to be quite useful.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    P.t.f.e. Is another name for Teflon.....acts as a super lubricant.....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My mum always tells me to rub marge into the zip to make it run freely
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