Originally Posted by
noglider
I tried using rubber cement. It worked on most of my patches, but my failure rate increased, so I went back to using vulcanizing fluid. I got a big can of it at the auto parts store. I did this not only for frugality. Once I open a little tube from a patch kit, it starts drying out. Next time I use it, I might find it to be empty, and the road is a bad place to find out. I try to avoid using those tubes at all.
One of my hard-and-fast rules is that I never pack an opened tube of vulcanizing fluid on the bike, only virgin ones. I don't ever want to repeat the experience of needing to patch a tube while on a ride, only to find out that the glue has dried up, again.