Repairing Cigars

[jwr0201]

Wonder about the various techniques the members here use for making repairs to uncooperative cigars.  I don't run into many issues, but over the years, have had my fair share.  Upon receiving a trade with several cracked feet and having recently experienced a favorite LFD with unraveling at the cap, decided to get going on some cigar glue.  After researching cigar glue, picked up a small 1oz/28g container of Gum Arabic.  This is the smallest sold and is still enough for more than 100 of us for life!  Best $4 I've ever spent.  For those unfamiliar with gum arabic, it is a food grade powder that is simply mixed with water.  A little goes a long way and it has no noticable taste at all.  The resulting thin semi-clear paste goes on a little wet and dries fairly quickly.  The resulting repair (at least my repair) is not invisible when dry, but is shiny and rather noticable.  I could not care less about visuals when an unraveling wrapper is secured and a nice stick is saved only to meet a satisfying fiery end! 

What do others use for cigar repairs?

[ultramag]

I've not messed with repairing any, usually just fight them with fingers and dirty looks. I've also wrapped a blank band I use for labeling singles around a troubled area to hold things in place until I get to it. 

Good timing for this, I have a few ragged singles I've been smoking through and 2-3 could use some advanced work. I was going to try corn starch. I sure think I remember reading or hearing about it several years back and it fits the same guideline as the gum Arabic, food grade and ingestion shouldn't be a problem. Anyone ever tried it?

How was the repair affected when the fire got to it? Did things come apart but burn decently still? Any perceived taste from the gum arabic?

[Habana Mike]

I tend to pull a bit of the leaf from the cap off and with a little spittle patch up cracks or runs. Worked wonders on many occasions when the glue bottle wasn't handy.

[sam]

Liquid fruit pectin.  It's available in grocery stores. Just tear open the pouch, squirt a bit out on a paper towel, and use a small modelers-type paint brush to spread it around before re-wrapping the unwrapped wrapper.  I spread the pectin over the entire surface to be reattached. The pectin has no flavor.  If the problem is at the foot, you can do this to several layers, starting with the inner-most unwrapped or cracked layer.  Although 'knock on wood' since I haven't had to do this in years, after you freeze a cigar with a beetle hole, ball up a bit of a cut-off cap from another cigar and stuff it in the hole with a small nail. Then use fruit pectin to apply a patch from a cut-off cap over the hole.  With a bit of practice, these techniques can be used very effectively to save good cigars that you might have otherwise had to toss.  -----sam

[ChrisMG]

Liquid pectin worked well for me. Just make sure it doesn't have any added sugar

[Lotusguy]

I also use gum Arabic, but the pre-mixed liquid one you can get at the art supply store. Don't want to mess with powders and it's always ready to go.

[JohnnyO]

If you use any of the powders and you are not going to smoke it right away use distilled water for your mix. You may have some mold develop in your humi later if you use tap water... if you store your repaired cigar there. John

[CopperHeaD]

+1 on the pectin.  Alternatively, in a bind...mash an uncooked grain of rice with a bit of water and work it into an easily spreadable paste.  Very effective!