Haven't heard of this zipper company before. Looks like you have a great selection of them. I do a lot of jacket zippers in my business, with a few portable fish houses and tents thrown in. Thank you!
Sailrite is so much more! I have one of their sewing machines and have completed many huge projects with their products and help with all of their videos.
Great explanation! Would you address the issue of zippers pulls not being compatible. I’ve been told that only YKK zipper pulls can be used with YKK zipper tape. Thanks.
We do recommend pairing sliders and chains that are the same brand because it will offer the best compatibility and performance. (For example, Lenzip sliders with Lenzip zipper chain and YKK sliders with YKK zipper chain.) However, if you do use different brands together, or you aren’t sure what brand a chain or slider is, the most important things to match for compatibility are zipper size and chain type. (For example, a #5 molded tooth zipper chain will need a #5 slider for molded tooth chains.)
I do a lot of jacket zipper repairs. It seems jacket designers install zippers that suit their design but do not consider repair. If I get a jacket with a bad pull, it usually means the entire zipper needs to be replaced because a replacement pull will not fit. Reading the name on the back of the pull will tell you what brand to replace it with and size. Sometimes there is no information. I even keep a stash of old pulls from various projects to try on a repair, but mostly they don’t fit. In a pinch for a quick timely repair, if it takes a YKK and I have a finished zipper on hand, I will rob the pull from that finished zipper for the immediate need and replace it later with a pull ordered separately. Hope this helps.
@@SailriteWorkbench I just learned that some of my YKK sliders will not fit some other brands of zippers and the reason was is I did not purchase the pair-shaped sliders which are a little bigger than the sliders that have sort of a pinked design. They are smaller and will not fit on toothed zippers. I searched for a year to find a slider to fit the larger toothed zippers and found Lenzip. I ordered 50 of the sliders and when I get a zipper that a Ykk will not fit I can go to my Lenzip No 5's and they work every time. I rarely replace a zipper that needs a new slider only. I find this is only a problem with the YKK No. 5. If you have used sliders then try to match the pear-shaped design or the printed pinked design with what you are removing. I never borrow a slider from a good zipper. Incidentally, if one side of a Ykk zipper is damaged then you can try a new zipper from Ykk and only need to replace the side that is damaged and not the entire zipper. Just take the one half and see if it zips to the original zipper it is a lot less work and I charge my customer less to replace the zipper. I make them pay for the new zipper but give him a break in labor charges. I tell him to keep the other half in case he damages the other side or if his slider starts o fail and he can take off the old slider and replace it with the new slider
You did not temp why the zipper pulls have different shapes: flat, pointed or in between. Please explain. I have a project enclosing a metal wire rack in my kitchen. I want two zippers on the same base so that I can open from either end. I want the zippers to meet tight without a gap when it’s closed. I also want breathable material but with plastic front. I will sew so that it’s to be pest free. What zipper will keep a tight seal? I have a lot of kitchen appliances. I want to wash them and store them so that they stay clean. Cabinets allow pests in as well as dust. Then I have to wash before use…yuck. Suggestions on material?
Zipper pull shapes are for style and are purely your personal preference. You can just choose a zipper pull style that you like! As for choosing a zipper for your project, we recommend reaching out to info@sailrite.com for those specific questions. Hope this is helpful for you!
How did you end up here? It's a pretty specific video to just land on by accident. Being that's it's information on a specific topic I'm glad it's thorough.
