camel hot patch
 

Hi,

I was looking for information on the Camel tire hot patch repair kit to see
if these are still available, which these are no longer in production. I
tried to sign up for your websight, but it will not let me.

Anyway, here's the scoop on these...The original over the coutner package
was an oval shaped metal can about the size of an egg, about 4 inches tall.
The lid had a grill/scraper similar to your mom's cheese grater with the
fine teeth on the side. The first thing we did was try to inflate our bike tubes then run into the kitchen and fill the sink with water to find the hole. Then we would stick a tooth pick in the hole to "save it".
Then back into the garage, dry it off, scuff it with the lid, put the hot patch in place with the clamp.
With great glee, ooo's and aahhh's, we lit it up. It truely was the event of the day. I used to go to Western Auto to buy these.

So, this morning, with all the luck of the "Tire Gods" looking down
on me, I went to Tracy, California to an estate auction. This was a very old farm
repair shop. Not much but a lot of heavy dust, dirt, spider webs, and other
grey haired guys like me looking at this old mans stuff.

I was almost ready to leave, when at my feet was what I thought was a Camel hot patch set. It
had the shaped table for the inner tube while you would scuff it, along with
a small and large clamp for different sizes of inner tubes. I have the complete assembly. For a fiver, this will go into my collection of old stuff. when I got home, the lettering did not look like it said Camel, so i went to my shop and wire brushed it. This is actually a "SHALER" hot patch tool, which is more rare than a Camel.

My wife looked at it as her eyes glazed over and told me how lucky I was to have found it. I think she even patted me on the head. She has no idea.

Here is why the tire patches are not doing the job, for those who use them.
Find the hole, clean the tube, SCUFF THE AREA with sandpaper the same size
as the patch or a little bigger. Apply the glue to both tube and patch
and LET BOTH DRY COMPLETELY, then apply the patch. Do not remove it. This is
a one shot deal. Some patch kits have a thin film over the part of the patch that applies to the tube.
This is to keep it clean.

If you are looking for these, try old......very old tire shops, blacksmith
shops, farm repair shops, anything in rural areas or small towns. You may
just get lucky. If you do find one, do not use it. Keep it. Show your wife.
She may just pat you on the head too and say "that's nice
honey"................Priceless
Happy Trails,
cavalino