Looking at my toolbox I realized I got several rubber cement tubes lying around. These are from buying patch repair kits. And buying patch repair kits comes from having no more patches to patch with. So, I got an old air tube around and thought that pieces of it could maybe be used as actual repair patches. Anyone doing that ? Is there something special to do like, I dunno, burning the rubber cement with a match or something or can the regular procedure (clean surface, apply cement, wait until dry, press patch firmly, wait) be also used ?

I tried this once. Sounded great but never got it to hold air. I guess you can try it, I used thin road tubes so the patch would stretch.

I've done it, you have to be very particular about preparation to get a good bond. Not worth the effort. Look around, you can just get patches, which is what I've been doing for the last couple of years to use up all those spare tubes of glue from patch kits. In Canada, MEC is a good source for the patches, my LBS went and got some in for me.

What I do is that I cut pieces of the ones that comes with the kit. ie, 6 pieces out of the large oval one and 4 pieces out of the circular ones. I've used these small patches for years without problems.

I used patches cut from tube for many years with complete success :-

Cut the tube patch round or oval because square corners will snag on things and peel more easily. You can angle the scissors to cut a bevelled edge for a more super patch.

Sandpaper both the tube and the patch very well, that is get through the dirty skin and into fresh new rubber over the whole contact surfaces - this is the key to a permanent join. Even with coarse 150 grit sandpaper it is a fiddly time consuming job.

Apply a thin smear of cement to both surfaces, let them dry for a few minutes, press together.

The normal patch kit patches are 'pre-sandpapered and glued'. The tube still needs to be sandpapered and given a thin smear of cement, let it dry, peel the backing off the patch and press it on.

For a less stressed join, pump the tube to almost the same size as the tyre before pressing the patch on. Doing this causes a tiny bubble to appear in the glue smear, and gives a final check for centering the patch over the hole.

My LBS will sell individual patches without making me buy a new patch kit. My LBS is earning my good will and gratitude very cheaply. Bike shop owners, are you listening?

Bike Tools Etc sells boxes of 100 Rema patches for $15. That and a 4-oz bottle of Elmers Rubber Cement from X-Mart will fix your tubes for years.

I never had any luck getting tubes to work as a patch for other tubes, but they do work great for patching sidewalls of tires.

My god guys,

You can go to Wallyworld and buy a patch kit with lots of patching material, and glue for a couple of bucks! Even comes in small plastic box.

Why are we makin' this so hard?

Because most patch kits have way more glue than required so you end up with a huge stock of tubes of glue and no patches.

that, and a spent tube is free
why buy something when you already have it?
frooooooooooooooogle

I agree......

20 patches for $4

If you just must do this… You can make yourself a patch cutter and produce many patches fast. Purchase a short peace of iron pipe found in the plumbing section in any hardware or building supply store with an inner diameter of the size of patches you prefer. Grind or file a knife-edge on the outside end of the pipe. It needs to be sharp and even so patches are cut nicely. Prep the old tube by sanding and cleaning with alcohol. Coat with a very thin application of rubber cement and apply wax paper. Wait for the cement to dry then place rubber on a peace of scrap wood and place the pipes sharp end down on the rubber. Hit the pipe with a hammer producing a perfect round rubber patch. Cut as many as you can from the prepped rubber. When applying the patch clean and prep the leaking inner tube as normal. Pull the wax paper from the home made rubber patch and coat with rubber cement. Allow cement on patch and inner tube to dry, press and hold firmly in place while cement cures.