Just as there are differences in zippers (styles), there are differences in zipper sliders. Zipper sliders are called by many names, “pully thingy”, “zipper car”, “teeth joiners”, “pullers”, etc. The official industry term that we use is “sliders”. Something that we’ve been helping people with is identifying the difference between zipper sliders. You see, each slider is made especially for the specific zipper that the slider will be applied to. We’ve had customers try to apply a metal slider to a nylon coil zipper and then complain that the zipper isn’t functioning properly. Below we’ll show you a quick way to decipher the difference between zipper sliders.
METAL ZIPPERS For any type of metal zipper, you’ll notice that the teeth extend away from the zipper tape on both sides of the zipper, front and back. With the teeth extending away from the tape on both sides, in the image below you’ll see that the slider mouth is casted with an upside down “U” and a right side up “U” to slide along the zipper teeth. If you try to use this metal slider on a nylon coil zipper, for example, the slider will not engage properly and the teeth may not close.
TIP: A plastic molded slider is casted exactly the same as a metal zipper. One tip to know is that a Plastic Molded Slider, that is the same gauge size as a Metal Zipper, will work just fine. HOWEVER, a Metal Slider will not work on a Plastic Molded Zipper of the same gauge.
NYLON COIL ZIPPERS On Nylon Coil Zippers, the sliders are completely different from the metal and plastic molded zippers. As you can see in the image below, there is one flat side of the slider. This flat side is due to the fact that the nylon coil zipper does not have teeth on the back of it. This is important to remember when trying to replace sliders. We’ve had people try to replace the slider and it didn’t function properly because they had the wrong slider type. One size definitely does not fit all.
There you have it. The difference between zipper sliders that will guide you through your zipper needs. These are small details that people don’t really notice, but are the biggest headaches.
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