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Plugging a tire is pretty basic stuff. You have to find the hole (using soap suds) and then run the cleaning tool into the hole to clean out the hole to prepare for the plug. Next, put rubber cement on plug and insert the plug. Cut the plug off with a razor blade as close to the tire as possible. Air up tire to specification.
It sometimes requires some muscle to push the plug into the tire. Most will plug very easy. I first find the hole and then back the vehicle up so that the hole is directly accessible from the back of the tire. I then get down on the ground and plug the tire.
I had a old Suburban that picked up a nail in the tire. At the time I was 18 and in between jobs, so I couldn't afford a new tire. I used a plug kit to repair it and it held up long enough for me to forget I had installed it, that includes numerous highway trips. These were standard truck tires, not speed rated or directional tires. It was a kit that came with a small tube of rubber cement, as well as the 'strings' and the install tool.
If the hole is too large, it won't work and you'll need to replace the tire or have it patched from the inside. Sidewall punctures should always be replaced.
What shouldn't be used is the Fix a flat stuff. It can throw your tires out of balance and the tire techs will hate you when you have it changed out.
When I was like 20 I was working Constuction and ran over a piece of coat hanger and it got embedded right in the edge of the tire, where the tread changed to sidewall. I knew no place would patch it. I had so much stuff in my car I didn’t want to take it out and I didn’t know if the spare was any good anyway. I pulled the coathanger out, slapped some caulk on a small pan head screw and screwed it in. Figured I’d be able to get to work and deal with it later. Yada, yada, yada, 3 months later I bought a used tire to replace it. Not recommended but hey I was young and dumb
When I was like 20 I was working Constuction and ran over a piece of coat hanger and it got embedded right in the edge of the tire, where the tread changed to sidewall. I knew no place would patch it. I had so much stuff in my car I didn’t want to take it out and I didn’t know if the spare was any good anyway. I pulled the coathanger out, slapped some caulk on a small pan head screw and screwed it in. Figured I’d be able to get to work and deal with it later. Yada, yada, yada, 3 months later I bought a used tire to replace it. Not recommended but hey I was young and dumb
Ive done something similar once when I had a big nail in a tire, and I didnt have money to replace, I pushed the nail all the way in and put 2 cans of 'slime' in the tire, this basically sealed around the nail and I was able to drive on it for the next couple months with no problems.
I live in the tire puncturing capital of the world...…..Florida. When construction is booming here, construction trucks drop all kinds of nails and screws all over the highways. So, I have plugged a lot of tires over the years, and they work great. The only trouble I ever had was one where the nail broke one of the steel belts in the tread and the plug kept getting chafed by the shredded steel belt. That one could not even be fixed by a tire shop.
Plugging a tire is pretty basic stuff. You have to find the hole (using soap suds) and then run the cleaning tool into the hole to clean out the hole to prepare for the plug. Next, put rubber cement on plug and insert the plug. Cut the plug off with a razor blade as close to the tire as possible. Air up tire to specification.
It sometimes requires some muscle to push the plug into the tire. Most will plug very easy. I first find the hole and then back the vehicle up so that the hole is directly accessible from the back of the tire. I then get down on the ground and plug the tire.
Yeah, sometimes the hole is big enough to leak, but not big enough for a plug. Can make it a real pain to run the tool through and install the plug.
I've fixed this problem on a few occasions with a drill
I clearly wrote that I have plugged tires before with success; I just prefer not to do the job since it's cheap to have someone else do it and it's a pain to do it yourself. I wrote this very clearly.
Proper installation doesn't mean it's invincible.
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