DIY Wetsuit Zipper Repair

You can repair your own wetsuit zipper using some craft skills and basic equipment found around the house.

Tools Required:

  • a lighter, hotknife or small soldering iron
  • sewing needle
  • dental floss or heavy sewing thread
  • small piece of webbing (Pro tip: snip it from your backpack strap)
  • neoprene cement if you have it

Cut a couple of teeth off down at the bottom of the zipper to slide zipper pull back on and reunite the two sides.

After the zipper pull is back on, zip the two sides together and melt the bottom couple of teeth together with a lighter or hotknife. This keeps the zipper from falling apart again.

Use the dental floss or any heavy sewing thread to stitch over the melted teeth to further secure them. You can also glue a scrap of webbing over it using neoprene cement, if you have it. (Pro tip: if you need a bit of webbing, snip it off the strap of an old backpack.)

If the top of the wetsuit zipper is what’s broken, you can stitch a bit of webbing over the top of the zipper to secure the zipper pull and keep it from flying off when you zip up.

Zip up and go for a surf!