Rents or holes in ordinary leather shoes or other objects can be very well repaired in this way. A piece of leather can in this case be substituted for the linen rag. Boots or shoes which will be very much exposed to wet should be warmed and then soaked or permeated with a solution of indiarubber. Preparations for the purpose can be bought of all dealers in gum and gutta-percha.
Cloth is generally waterproofed by steeping it in a slight solution of caoutchouc.
Another recipe (Lehner) is as follows:—
| Caoutchouc | 150 |
| Tallow | 10 |
| Slacked lime | 10 |
This is used to cork or close bottles. To render it more resistant, substitute pipeclay for the lime. Or if in place of either we use red oxide of lead, it will form in time an extremely hard and perfectly waterproof cement of great value.
A strong indiarubber cement:—
| Caoutchouc, about | 90 |
| Pulverised sulphur | 10 |
| Or from 6 to 12 of the latter. | |
This is specially commended as useful to close tins containing fruits, &c. It is simply vulcanised indiarubber.
Marine glue is a very valuable and generally useful cement. It is so called because, being perfectly waterproof, it is used for many purposes in ships. It is applicable not only to repairing indiarubber or gutta-percha garments, but also to objects of metal, wood, glass, stone, paper, or cloth; as, for instance, umbrellas, on which, when torn, a patch or strip of silk or muslin may be gummed, which will last as long as the rest. It is also good for waterproofing shoes. It is sold by dealers in ships’ stores, chemists, and others. “It is a good thing to have in the country.”
Hard marine glue:—