Hmmmmm...I assume your zippers are white. The YKK #10 white zippers
originally on my 1990 MaXum bimini lasted 13 years-no problem with
degrading. The #10 YKK black zippers on my new bimini are only 2 years
old, but no evidence of degrading yet.
Repair:
Buy a short length of zipper. Cut off the pin and box with some web
attached. Cut out the damaged pin, and super glue the replacement in so
the zipper meshes properly. Make the joint far enough away from the
slider path that you can add a reinforcing strip of fabric to both sides
of the joint. Ditto for the box side.
My local outdoor fabric shop has zippers in all sizes and colors, from
96" down to 12" length, and bins full of replacement sliders, stops, etc.
JR

sherwindu wrote:
I have several 8VS zippers on my boat cover, which was made for me
about 5 years ago. The teeth and sliders of this zipper are in
excellent shape, but the pin and boxes have dried out and disintegrated.

The pin and box is the small item at the start of the zipper to guide
the slider on.
I am told this item is integral to the zipper and cannot be repaired.
I think YKK's recent fix for this problem of using UV
resistant zippers is not necessarily the best fix, but the only choice
in using
a YKK system. Years ago YKK zippers had a removable pin and box
piece that could be attached if the original one broke, but now
everything
is one piece to save costs. Although YKK hints at paying for the
material
costs of new zippers, labor could cost me as much as 35 dollars each to
replace and I have over 20 zippers on this cover.

Sherwin D.



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