Different methods of patching tubes
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,060
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 529 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 255 Times
in
185 Posts
Different methods of patching tubes
With all methods of patching tubes that I have seen, something is first used to roughen the surface to be patched.
1. In Australia these days, you apply glue to the surface of the tube to be patched, wait for it to be touch dry, then apply the patch, and press firmly.
2. A few decades ago in Australia, there used to be patches with a metal backing which you clamped to the tube. They had a material on the metal which burnt. You lit this, waited for it to burn, and melt the patch to the tube. Here are some historical pictures of some patches and a clamp.
3. In S E Asia, two methods are used. The first is like (number 1) the glue on patches. Except in S E Asia, they use a cigarette lighter to light the glue after applying it. After about one second, they blow it out (tubes can burn). Then light it again, and blow it out again. After about 3 times, it no longer lights. They then apply the patch, and press firmly. This saves waiting for the glue to dry. I also wonder if the heat also makes the patch stick better. I have tried these patches, and waited for the glue to dry. They do not stick very well.
4. In S E Asia they tell you that the glue on patches (number 3) do not stick well, and usually use another method. They use an engine piston, or something similar, to clamp a piece of rubber tightly to the area being patched. They put flammable liquid (maybe kerosene or diesel) in the piston, and light it. This heats up and melts the rubber to the area being patched. There are also electric versions, which heat up after being plugged into the power. This method of heating the rubber and melting it to the tube, seems to result in patches which stick much better.
1. In Australia these days, you apply glue to the surface of the tube to be patched, wait for it to be touch dry, then apply the patch, and press firmly.
2. A few decades ago in Australia, there used to be patches with a metal backing which you clamped to the tube. They had a material on the metal which burnt. You lit this, waited for it to burn, and melt the patch to the tube. Here are some historical pictures of some patches and a clamp.
3. In S E Asia, two methods are used. The first is like (number 1) the glue on patches. Except in S E Asia, they use a cigarette lighter to light the glue after applying it. After about one second, they blow it out (tubes can burn). Then light it again, and blow it out again. After about 3 times, it no longer lights. They then apply the patch, and press firmly. This saves waiting for the glue to dry. I also wonder if the heat also makes the patch stick better. I have tried these patches, and waited for the glue to dry. They do not stick very well.
4. In S E Asia they tell you that the glue on patches (number 3) do not stick well, and usually use another method. They use an engine piston, or something similar, to clamp a piece of rubber tightly to the area being patched. They put flammable liquid (maybe kerosene or diesel) in the piston, and light it. This heats up and melts the rubber to the area being patched. There are also electric versions, which heat up after being plugged into the power. This method of heating the rubber and melting it to the tube, seems to result in patches which stick much better.
#2
Junior Member
Here in Brazil the urban centers are almost 100% on the glued cold patch method, even cars and trucks. But on rural or remote areas the hot method is still in use, but they apply a vulcanizing goop before applying a plain strip of old tube on top of it.
There are even hot presses commercially available for it, both electric and querosene lit. Some old grumpy farmers and tractor drivers still begs for this, despite several tube manufacturer’s recommendations against it.
There are even hot presses commercially available for it, both electric and querosene lit. Some old grumpy farmers and tractor drivers still begs for this, despite several tube manufacturer’s recommendations against it.
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 5,373
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2482 Post(s)
Liked 2,955 Times
in
1,678 Posts
cyccommute is a chemist and has repeatedly demystified the topic of tube patch technology in Bike Forums threads. My conclusion from reading those threads is that Rema patch kits are reliable whereas other patch kits may not be.
With respect to the apparent need to abrade the surface of the tube, when I patch a hole in a tube at home, instead of using sandpaper or the equivalent, I simply wipe the area around the hole with alcohol, let the alcohol dry, and then apply the glue. Works every time.
With respect to the apparent need to abrade the surface of the tube, when I patch a hole in a tube at home, instead of using sandpaper or the equivalent, I simply wipe the area around the hole with alcohol, let the alcohol dry, and then apply the glue. Works every time.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,599
Bikes: 06 Lemond Reno, 98 GT Timberline mtn.bike
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 427 Post(s)
Liked 699 Times
in
436 Posts
When I was a kid, I remember my father showing me how to patch tubes. He would light the glue, only let it flame for a few seconds or so, let it cool, then apply the patch. I don't use that method, I use the "traditional" rough it, apply glue, etc. But don't remember any patch failures from "kid days".
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,060
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 529 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 255 Times
in
185 Posts
When I was a kid, I remember my father showing me how to patch tubes. He would light the glue, only let it flame for a few seconds or so, let it cool, then apply the patch. I don't use that method, I use the "traditional" rough it, apply glue, etc. But don't remember any patch failures from "kid days".
#8
Really Old Senior Member
When I was a kid, I remember my father showing me how to patch tubes. He would light the glue, only let it flame for a few seconds or so, let it cool, then apply the patch. I don't use that method, I use the "traditional" rough it, apply glue, etc. But don't remember any patch failures from "kid days".
When I started working in a gas station in 1964 I never saw anybody use a hot patch anymore.
With REMA, there's no need to mess with any other method. The patch pretty much becomes "ONE" with the tube.
Just don't be shy with the sand paper.
#9
Newbie
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Corn Field County, Illinois
Posts: 57
Bikes: 2023 Cervelo Soloist 2007 Specialized Tricross 2017 Colnago CRS 2001 Schwinn Homegrown
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Liked 65 Times
in
22 Posts
I always use a pre buff liquid cleaner. Never had a problem with patches not holding.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,706
Bikes: Trek 730 (quad), 720 & 830, Bike Friday NWT, Brompton M36R & M6R, Dahon HAT060 & HT060, ...
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 840 Post(s)
Liked 336 Times
in
251 Posts
One modification of the cold glue patching I heard of, that does not require waiting 5 min, is to put the glue on, then wipe it off and put the patch on right away. I have not tried it but maybe it deserves some dry runs.
#11
Senior Member
It won't work. The tube needs to be cleaned, either chemically or with sand paper to remove the mold release compound on the rubber.
#12
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lincoln Ne
Posts: 9,924
Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II
Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3352 Post(s)
Liked 1,056 Times
in
635 Posts
Or---------------instead of all that messing around you could use Park glueless patches like I do. When properly applied they last several years. No muss no fuss no bother, and no dried out tubes of glue.
Last edited by rydabent; 01-07-21 at 10:32 AM.
Likes For Gresp15C:
#14
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Maybe 20 years before.
You are a bit older than me but I think this “hot patch” thing goes back to what our Daddies were taught back in the 30s. The process to hot patch is not taking rubber cement or proper vulcanizing fluid and setting it on fire. It doesn’t work that way. All you do is scorch the tube and weaken it. Cold vulcanization (and just rubber cement) work through chemistry and not just heat. Heat is probably detrimental because it burns the chemicals that are needed for the bond to form. Even old hot patches weren’t just a case of dousing the tube with solvent and setting it on fire. There was more to it than that.
Yes, just use the Rema TipTop and just follow the directions. There’s no need for setting anything on fire.
When I started working in a gas station in 1964 I never saw anybody use a hot patch anymore.
With REMA, there's no need to mess with any other method. The patch pretty much becomes "ONE" with the tube.
Just don't be shy with the sand paper.
With REMA, there's no need to mess with any other method. The patch pretty much becomes "ONE" with the tube.
Just don't be shy with the sand paper.
Yes, just use the Rema TipTop and just follow the directions. There’s no need for setting anything on fire.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#15
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Yup. RTFM works wonders.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#16
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Glueless patches don’t have a real good track record. Probably because of the mold release compound. The patch sticks to the release compound and it does what it does in the mold...it releases.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#17
Really Old Senior Member
Maybe 20 years before.
You are a bit older than me but I think this “hot patch” thing goes back to what our Daddies were taught back in the 30s. The process to hot patch is not taking rubber cement or proper vulcanizing fluid and setting it on fire. It doesn’t work that way. All you do is scorch the tube and weaken it. Cold vulcanization (and just rubber cement) work through chemistry and not just heat. Heat is probably detrimental because it burns the chemicals that are needed for the bond to form. Even old hot patches weren’t just a case of dousing the tube with solvent and setting it on fire. There was more to it than that.
Yes, just use the Rema TipTop and just follow the directions. There’s no need for setting anything on fire.
You are a bit older than me but I think this “hot patch” thing goes back to what our Daddies were taught back in the 30s. The process to hot patch is not taking rubber cement or proper vulcanizing fluid and setting it on fire. It doesn’t work that way. All you do is scorch the tube and weaken it. Cold vulcanization (and just rubber cement) work through chemistry and not just heat. Heat is probably detrimental because it burns the chemicals that are needed for the bond to form. Even old hot patches weren’t just a case of dousing the tube with solvent and setting it on fire. There was more to it than that.
Yes, just use the Rema TipTop and just follow the directions. There’s no need for setting anything on fire.
Here's a "tube" video. I don't remember the finished product being that ugly!
Last edited by Bill Kapaun; 01-06-21 at 05:54 PM.
#19
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,060
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 529 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 255 Times
in
185 Posts
Memory is a bit foggy, but I remember them using a clamping fixture of some type, usually attached to the end of the work bench near the "tire area". I don't think the rubber was "supposed" to be exposed to flame. I only saw it done 2-3 times. 6-8 years later (age 16) when I actually worked in a gas station, it was only cold methods.
Here's a "tube" video. I don't remember the finished product being that ugly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ennV0BVFZVw
Here's a "tube" video. I don't remember the finished product being that ugly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ennV0BVFZVw
#20
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,060
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 529 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 255 Times
in
185 Posts
Here is a video of how it is done in S E Asia. Some do it like shown in the video. Others use an electric device for heating it.
Last edited by alo; 01-06-21 at 06:33 PM.
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,706
Bikes: Trek 730 (quad), 720 & 830, Bike Friday NWT, Brompton M36R & M6R, Dahon HAT060 & HT060, ...
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 840 Post(s)
Liked 336 Times
in
251 Posts
You can still buy hot patches on Ebay and I mean real ones, not those where the term just serves as a bait, but their supply is waning. In my memory, the patch material was softer than of the tube itself and it melted while the tube was just softening. Using the clamp was essential. The process was cumbersome, but you pretty much worked without a break until the tube got sealed.
#22
bOsscO
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 746
Bikes: 2024 Spec Crux, 2015 Norco Search S1, 93 Mongoose IBOC COMP
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 296 Post(s)
Liked 355 Times
in
212 Posts
#23
SE Wis
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,515
Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970
Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2747 Post(s)
Liked 3,395 Times
in
2,056 Posts
When I was a kid in the 60-70's the hot patches were still around and we used them. In fact cleaning out the family homestead to settle the estate, I recently tossed out a couple of the little presses. Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.: Hot Vulcanizing
#24
Full Member
I don't think that will work. If you're cold glue patching anyway, there should hardly be any excess glue to wipe off, use as thin a layer as possible.
#25
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
Memory is a bit foggy, but I remember them using a clamping fixture of some type, usually attached to the end of the work bench near the "tire area". I don't think the rubber was "supposed" to be exposed to flame. I only saw it done 2-3 times. 6-8 years later (age 16) when I actually worked in a gas station, it was only cold methods.
Here's a "tube" video. I don't remember the finished product being that ugly!
Here's a "tube" video. I don't remember the finished product being that ugly!
I do have to say that the guy in the video isn’t practicing the best safety. A gallon of mineral spirits open on the bench next to a flame that isn’t all that hard to put out is asking for a visit from the local fire department.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!