The tire patch kits that I remember from the late 40s through the 1960s were Camel brand. They came in a 2" round cardboard "can" with metal ends.
The cap had a "grater" like surface for roughing up the rubber area to be patched.
There were also some larger kits in cans plus a flat metal container with rounded ends like those used for pipe tobacco.
The repair kits came with a tube of cement. They also sold the cement in several sizes of brush top cans.
The cans and packages had graphics that looked like a Camel cigarette pack except with a light blue sky.
My dad used these kits to patch our rubber hip boots and waders that we used for fishing. Later I did it myself.
I worked a truck stop for several summers fixing tires.
There are 2 reasons to scuff up the rubber surface. The first is to remove any mold release material and the second is to remove the hard vulcanized rubber surface and expose the softer rubber underneath. Patches wont stick very well to a contaminated surface.
The "glue" further softened the rubber so that the unvulcanized rubber in the patches would adhere better.
The process is via a rubber to rubber bond, the patches are not glued on.
I had 2 flats this past Saturday. The first flat was caused by a goat head in my front tire, the second by a glass shard in the rear.
I only carry 1 spare tube so I had to patch the rear one with a Rema tire repair kit. The new "glue" that comes in these kits is useless! It's like rubber cement for paper! I had to use 2 patches because the first one didn't stick!
I'm going to have to find some of the old cancer causing stuff that works!
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Reid Fisher wrote:
> Seconding Don's recollection from the 60's of the cardboard sort of oval/rectangle tube with the metal end for roughening the rubber.
>
>>From what I'm finding in my Dad's stuff, generic inner tube patch kits were basically the same in the late 1930's to 1941 (the years he could've bought them). Didn't find any glue tubes.
>
> Reid Fisher
> San Martin, California