On Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:56:09 +0000 (UTC), Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:

The bike rack on my wife's car has its jaws lined with strips of rubber
-- pretty much inner tube rubber. The cement holding them in place came
loose early one. I've tried to re-cement them using contact cement, but
that didn't hold well. Does anyone know what's a good way to get rubber
to stick to painted steel?

Try the contact cement again. However, this time, clean both parts
with trichloroethylene, disk brake cleaner, MEK, or some other noxious
and hazaradous degreaser/solvent. If possible, rough the surface of
the painted steel part to the point where it's dull, but does not
destroy the paint (or it will rust). Smear a THIN layer of contact
cement on BOTH parts. If it doesn't run smooth and thin, add some
solvent to the bottle, mix, and try again. Don't do this in the sun.
Wait at least 5 minutes for the solvent to evaporate and for the
smeared glue surface to look dull. Then, wait even longer. Too soon
is what kills most contact cement glue joints. Stick the parts
together and apply holding pressure with a clamp. If it's round, wrap
it with something and use a hose clamp or pipe strap to compress.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558