Fixing Punctures / Puncture Repair / Exploding Tubes

If you're only waiting a few seconds for the glue to 'dry' there's something wrong with your process.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#patching

Patching

          Inner tube patching is a very old, well established technology, and is quite reliable if done properly:         

• Select a patch appropriate to the size of the hole(s).
  
• Use the sandpaper provided in the patch kit to buff the surface of the tube for an area a bit larger than the patch. You need to buff the tube so that it is no longer shiny. If there is a molding line running along the area where the patch is to be applied, you must sand it down completely, or it will provide an air channel. Avoid touching the buffed area with your fingers.
  
• Apply a dab of rubber cement, then spread it into a thin coat, using your cleanest finger. Work quickly. You want a thin, smooth coat of cement; if you keep fiddling with it as it begins to dry, you'll risk making it lumpy. The thinner the cement, the faster it will dry.
  
• Allow the cement to dry completely.
  
• Make sure the cement has dried completely!
  
• Peel the foil from the patch and press the patch onto the tube firmly.
  
• Squeeze the patch tightly onto the tube. You're done!
  
  

If you follow this procedure, and use good materials, your patched tube should be basically as good as new. Patch failure generally results from one of two errors:

• Not buffing the tube sufficiently, or:
  
• Applying the patch before the cement has dried fully.