Originally Posted by
Racing Dan
Again, really?
In my experience they all work the same, with the same sort of "glue" and patches. I never came across a set that had "rubber cement" or any glue that wasn't functionally identical to the "glue" in the Rema sets.
Yes, really. I’ve looked into this numerous times due to these kinds of discussions. There’s a fair amount of sophisticated chemistry involved in Rema patches that isn’t used anywhere else. Look at any number of none Rema kits. They almost all say “rubber cement”. The “glue” in most patch kits is identical to Elmer’s Rubber Cement which is just latex in a solvent suspension. Rema vulcanizing fluid contains N-Ethylcyclohexylamine. There is a sulfur containing compound in the patch that is activated by the amine in the vulcanizing fluid. Between the two, they react to form new sulfur bonds into the rubber which are more permanent than those formed with rubber cement.
Failures with the Rema can happen but they are usually due to user error. Failures with rubber cement is due to bond failure.