I have got 6 sail bags with zips.
3 are broken. All due to salt seizing them I think. All less than 2 years old.
I bet if I counted all the other zips on my gear 50% would be bust.
How do you keep zips working and free of salt and sand ?, other than washing them everytime you go out, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a bag in which to throw a salty, sandy sail.
I use chain lube on them every so often but it only seems to delay the inevitable
i have the same problem, even had to cut down the side of the zipper with a knife on one bag to get the sail out, problem solved by finding an old sail bag with the draw string and plastc push locky thingy, doesn't look as good but no zipps on it
put your sails in the bag luff first, and stand the sails up in your shed luff down, so the salt water doesn't pool and dry up over the zips?
Wax stick on the teeth or silicone spray on the zip slide when new or newish to keem 'em free moving. Avoid WD40, use Lanox (Lanolin based) it's kinder to more plastics, more sticky therefore waterproof longer. Unfortunately it seems that zips used in bags aren't the best quality and corrode, if they use wetsuit zippers (YKK) they'd outlast the sail and bag and costs not much more per unit. With the price of sails nowadays you'd think they can afford to use the better quality zips for the overall top quality image they want to depict.
I would avoid the CRC and wd type stuff as the oils ,solvents etc will get into the sail material. With all our landsailing gear, which gets used on pure, wet salt , we spray silicon lube onto it BEFORE we get it wet or salty. its the only thing that works long term on zips. If they get really dirty I wash with frsh water, blow dry then straight on with the silicon spray. make sure you use the little tube to get it right into the zip.
I was warned by a sailmaker to use silicone spray but never got around to finding any..The board bag he was telling me to spray is great but a new sail/gear bag has one of the zips stuffed..the funny thing is its the one zip Ive never used! So once they get the salty /seized affliction can they be revived with the silicone or is it too late?
Also where do you buy it..Bunnings or a more specialised store..?
hey i have a sail and gear bag its like 2 metres in lenghth is there anywhere where i can take it to get a new zip.. id give it to my oldes( namely oldies (mum) but id feel bad as i already drop of my washing and nick all there food.)
Think I'd probably go for the wax stick, any forms of lubricant that leave a slick on the zipper are going to attract the very thing you're trying to remove, dust, salt, sand etc. I don't know whether I agree with standing sails upright on thier luff pocket either, which of course in my case is where the zipper usually ends up, letting all the water drain and pool around the zip. Then when it dries....
Probably over the top but when I wash my sails I also wash the sail bag as well.
I have got millage out of the following trick: I never zip all the way up or down.
Leave an inch. This way, I can screw around both ways. The zip is freer this way and I find lasts longer.
Whitworths or a good ship chandlery will have Mclube Sailkote in a can. Is silicon based and works great, just keep remembering to apply.
Board bags are the same. I have Dakine, Creatures of Leisure etc (all seize up or snap) and the only one that is still working great is the zips in the Flying Objects bag. Its 4-5 years old and the zips still glide like day one.
I have always thought that by leaving the sailbag open it helps dry the sail out, particulaly as they get put in my van wet and stay there.
silicon spray is so common now, they sell it in woolies, no need to get the overpriced "special" products