Heat gun makes patching tubes faster and better.
04-02-11, 09:31 AM
#1
Don from Austin Texas
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Heat gun makes patching tubes faster and better.
I have an industrial strength heat gun at my car repair shop. It is a hair dryer on steroids essentially. Used it to dry a tube that I had just submerged in water to find the pinhole. I got the tube real hot before applying the rubber cement, I quick-dried the cement with the heat gun. After applying the patch I got it almost too hot too touch with the heat gun and then tamped it down.
No problem with patch adhering as tested by inflating the tube to considerable stretch and sped up the whole process of a sound repair.
I am sure I am not the first to think of this.
Don in Austin
No problem with patch adhering as tested by inflating the tube to considerable stretch and sped up the whole process of a sound repair.
I am sure I am not the first to think of this.
Don in Austin
04-02-11, 09:41 AM
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Yes, I'm sure it made the job much faster, but not necessarily better. The "glue" supplied with cold vulcanizing (notice the word cold) patch kits isn't actually glue, but a surface treatment which, after it's dry, will bond very effectively with the prepared patch material to make a permanent repair.
Your technique is perfectly fine, but You'll need a very long extension cord if you plan to use it on the road.
Your technique is perfectly fine, but You'll need a very long extension cord if you plan to use it on the road.
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04-02-11, 09:48 AM
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Im sure that probably work good is you are still using the old glue and patch method. For several years now I have been using the glueless patches. I have never had one fail, and since they are fast and simple I feel they are superior.
04-02-11, 09:50 AM
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Don from Austin Texas
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Yes, I'm sure it made the job much faster, but not necessarily better. The "glue" supplied with cold vulcanizing (notice the word cold) patch kits isn't actually glue, but a surface treatment which, after it's dry, will bond very effectively with the prepared patch material to make a permanent repair.
Your technique is perfectly fine, but You'll need a very long extension cord if you plan to use it on the road.
Your technique is perfectly fine, but You'll need a very long extension cord if you plan to use it on the road.
I have had poor adhesion on some tubes in the past.
Don in Austin
04-02-11, 10:29 AM
#5
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I have an industrial strength heat gun at my car repair shop. It is a hair dryer on steroids essentially. Used it to dry a tube that I had just submerged in water to find the pinhole. I got the tube real hot before applying the rubber cement, I quick-dried the cement with the heat gun. After applying the patch I got it almost too hot too touch with the heat gun and then tamped it down.
No problem with patch adhering as tested by inflating the tube to considerable stretch and sped up the whole process of a sound repair.
I am sure I am not the first to think of this.
Don in Austin
No problem with patch adhering as tested by inflating the tube to considerable stretch and sped up the whole process of a sound repair.
I am sure I am not the first to think of this.
Don in Austin
If you've really got a bucket full of tubes, just put glue on all of them, then patch the first one. You can leave the cement to dry for as long as you want (months, if you want) as long as you can keep it clean. The solvents are there to allow the spreading of the cement, they're not part of the adhesive properties. It's a two part system, with a vulcanizing accelerant in the cement (cyclohexylethylamine is most common, but there are a bunch of suitable ones.), plus finely ground unvulcanized rubber, and a solvent to make it all spreadable. The patch has a thin layer of specially prepared rubber on the surface that touches the tube; it's got a zinc thiocarbamate compound on it, which is an extremely fast acting vulcanization accelerant that requires external activation (by, say, cyclohexylethylamine). There's enough unbound sulphur on surface of the tube that the system produces a cross-linked connection from the tube surface through the rubber in the cement, and including the rubber of the patch. It's a very clever bit of applied chemistry. Details vary a bit from patch brand to patch brand (and is one of the reasons that some patches are very specific about what cement to use.)
A little heat after you put the patch on isn't likely to hurt, and should speed up the reaction.
Improper surface prep and failing to let the glue dry are by far the most common causes of patch failure.
04-02-11, 04:39 PM
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Don from Austin Texas
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No, you're not the first to think of it, which is why instructions for automotive and industrial rubber repair explicitly say not to do it. It's certainly fine to get the water off the tube, but the concern for the patch is that you'll cause a skin to form on the film of cement, which impedes the evaporation of the solvents. If you put the patch on the cement before the solvents evaporate, you can have a failed patch.
If you've really got a bucket full of tubes, just put glue on all of them, then patch the first one. You can leave the cement to dry for as long as you want (months, if you want) as long as you can keep it clean. The solvents are there to allow the spreading of the cement, they're not part of the adhesive properties. It's a two part system, with a vulcanizing accelerant in the cement (cyclohexylethylamine is most common, but there are a bunch of suitable ones.), plus finely ground unvulcanized rubber, and a solvent to make it all spreadable. The patch has a thin layer of specially prepared rubber on the surface that touches the tube; it's got a zinc thiocarbamate compound on it, which is an extremely fast acting vulcanization accelerant that requires external activation (by, say, cyclohexylethylamine). There's enough unbound sulphur on surface of the tube that the system produces a cross-linked connection from the tube surface through the rubber in the cement, and including the rubber of the patch. It's a very clever bit of applied chemistry. Details vary a bit from patch brand to patch brand (and is one of the reasons that some patches are very specific about what cement to use.)
A little heat after you put the patch on isn't likely to hurt, and should speed up the reaction.
Improper surface prep and failing to let the glue dry are by far the most common causes of patch failure.
If you've really got a bucket full of tubes, just put glue on all of them, then patch the first one. You can leave the cement to dry for as long as you want (months, if you want) as long as you can keep it clean. The solvents are there to allow the spreading of the cement, they're not part of the adhesive properties. It's a two part system, with a vulcanizing accelerant in the cement (cyclohexylethylamine is most common, but there are a bunch of suitable ones.), plus finely ground unvulcanized rubber, and a solvent to make it all spreadable. The patch has a thin layer of specially prepared rubber on the surface that touches the tube; it's got a zinc thiocarbamate compound on it, which is an extremely fast acting vulcanization accelerant that requires external activation (by, say, cyclohexylethylamine). There's enough unbound sulphur on surface of the tube that the system produces a cross-linked connection from the tube surface through the rubber in the cement, and including the rubber of the patch. It's a very clever bit of applied chemistry. Details vary a bit from patch brand to patch brand (and is one of the reasons that some patches are very specific about what cement to use.)
A little heat after you put the patch on isn't likely to hurt, and should speed up the reaction.
Improper surface prep and failing to let the glue dry are by far the most common causes of patch failure.
Don in Austin
04-07-11, 11:31 PM
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I have a heat gun and hair dryer in my shop. I use the hairdryer for patching tubes, it really speads things up with little risk of getting to hot. It's been cold in Seattle for the last 6 months and my shop is not heated, so it really helps.
