No such thing as "vulcanizing" cement. Term is a throwback to the '20s when
patching was an everyday thing and you used heat and pressure, sometimes
fire, to effect a seal between the patch and the tube or tire. All home and
simple tire repair glue is solvent based, dissolving rubber compounds in
hydrocarbon solvent and it is ready to use when solvent evaporates on the
tube leaving a slightly tacky surface. Tire manufacturers 'vulcanize' rubber
to make tires using giant hot presses to mold and bond the tire components
together. Any auto store or Walmart has suitable solvent tire cement in
8oz cans with a brush attached to the lids. Kept tight these cans will last
5 yrs or so before they get too viscous to use. Not all contact cements are
appropriate, there are lots of different kinds, the type sold as paper contact
cement is the right stuff.
Hmmm, how as electronics and computer-technology improved since the '20s? What about medical technology? How about automotive technology? Are the cars we're driving today the same as back in the '20s?
One of the advances is in coming up with other methods of vulcanizing (curing) rubber to form cross-linked bonds using other than just heat. The solvent you speak of is known as cold-vulcanizing fluid and it
does perform vulcanization and creation of cross-linking. Some reading for ya:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcanization
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4913950.html
http://www.rema-tiptop.com/portal/Vu...290,116336.rtt <-- wroomwroom, additional fluid here
And both rubber-cement and vulcanizing-fluid can be used to apply a patch. The bond-strengths are different in that the vulcanized joint is permanent with the two layers fused together permamently. The rubber-cement joint uses a 3rd adhesive layer that sticks to both the patch and tube. This joint is not as strong as a vulcanized one and you can cleanly peel off a patch later. Trying to do this to a vulcanized patch is impossible and you'll tear the patch and/or the tube in the process.
For automotive/motorcycle applications at low-pressure, the larger amount of flex in the casing makes rubber-cement not suitable, vulcanizing is the only way to keep the patch on. However, in high-pressure applications with a tube pressing on the patch, like with bicycles, rubber-cement can work quite well. Only caveat is if you do super-fast downhill bombing-runs on bumpy tarmac with maximum-braking diving into the corners, the flexing and heat developed can soften a rubber-cemented patch (or the glueless sticker types).
Wroomwroom, a good source for additional cold vulcanizing fluid is auto-tyre patch kits from auto-parts stores. These typically come with a LARGE tube of vulcanizing fluid that can be used on bicycle tubes. Toss the auto patches as they're not as good as the 2cm bicycle patches with tapered edges.