diff --git a/crates/solver/src/contact.rs b/crates/solver/src/contact.rs
index 1e08b2e..2f3f58d 100644
--- a/crates/solver/src/contact.rs
+++ b/crates/solver/src/contact.rs
@@ -75,9 +75,15 @@
 //! of the pressure field and ring at the contact's edge), the multiplier, the gap and the status;
 //! per contact the force on the secondary surface and its normal part.
 //!
-//! **Scope.** Pairs of surfaces of linear solid faces (tri3 and quad4 faces: tet4, wedge6 and
-//! hex8 elements) in 3D models, with Coulomb friction ([`Interface::friction`]). General (single-surface) contact, quadratic faces,
-//! 2D models and arc-length steps are refused by name.
+//! **Single-surface (general) contact** is the same mortar contact with one face list as both
+//! sides: a set's faces, or every exterior face of the solids. Each face is a secondary face
+//! against every other one that faces it, that shares no node with its element (its neighbours)
+//! and that it does not reach through more than half an element (the far side of a thin wall),
+//! so two faces pressing together are paired both ways, symmetrically: self-contact of folds.
+//!
+//! **Scope.** Linear solid faces (tri3 and quad4 faces: tet4, wedge6 and hex8 elements) in 3D
+//! models, with Coulomb friction ([`Interface::friction`]). Quadratic faces, 2D models and
+//! arc-length steps are refused by name.
 
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 
@@ -85,7 +91,7 @@ use fieldcraft_fem::contact::{Aabb, Grid, bounds};
 use fieldcraft_fem::dual::{Dual, Hyper, Real, VARS};
 use fieldcraft_fem::frame::{Vec3, dot, norm, unit};
 use fieldcraft_fem::mortar::{area_vector, integrate};
-use fieldcraft_model::{Contact, ContactSurfaces, ElementKind, Friction, InitialPenetration, Model, Resolved};
+use fieldcraft_model::{Contact, ContactSurfaces, ElementFace, ElementKind, Friction, InitialPenetration, Model, Resolved};
 use fieldcraft_parallel as parallel;
 use serde::Serialize;
 
@@ -306,7 +312,11 @@ fn size(x: &[Vec3]) -> f64 {
 /// The faces of set `set` for definition `owner` (``contact `name` ``, ``tie `name` ``), refused
 /// unless they are linear faces of analysed solid elements.
 pub(crate) fn faces(model: &Model, resolved: &Resolved, mesh: &Mesh, owner: &str, set: &str) -> Result<Vec<Face>> {
-    let list = resolved.sets.get(set).map(|s| s.faces.as_slice()).unwrap_or_default();
+    face_list(model, mesh, owner, resolved.sets.get(set).map(|s| s.faces.as_slice()).unwrap_or_default())
+}
+
+/// The faces `list` for definition `owner`, as [`faces`].
+fn face_list(model: &Model, mesh: &Mesh, owner: &str, list: &[ElementFace]) -> Result<Vec<Face>> {
     let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(list.len());
     for f in list {
         let at = |what: String| Error::Invalid(format!("{owner}: element {} face {}: {what}", f.element, f.face));
@@ -459,14 +469,21 @@ impl Interface {
     }
 
     fn new(model: &Model, resolved: &Resolved, mesh: &Mesh, name: &str, contact: &Contact) -> Result<Interface> {
-        let ContactSurfaces::Pair { main, secondary } = &contact.surfaces else {
-            return Err(Error::NotSupported(format!(
-                "general (single-surface) contact `{name}` in implicit steps; define contact pairs (interaction.contact.pair), or solve it in explicit dynamics"
-            )));
-        };
         let owner = format!("contact `{name}`");
-        let secondary = faces(model, resolved, mesh, &owner, secondary)?;
-        let main = faces(model, resolved, mesh, &owner, main)?;
+        let (secondary, main) = match &contact.surfaces {
+            ContactSurfaces::Pair { main, secondary } => {
+                (faces(model, resolved, mesh, &owner, secondary)?, faces(model, resolved, mesh, &owner, main)?)
+            }
+            // Single surface: every face against every other one that faces it and shares no node
+            // with its element (its neighbours), both ways.
+            ContactSurfaces::General { surface } => {
+                let list = match surface {
+                    Some(set) => faces(model, resolved, mesh, &owner, set)?,
+                    None => face_list(model, mesh, &owner, &model.exterior_faces())?,
+                };
+                (list.clone(), list)
+            }
+        };
         let mut nodes: Vec<usize> = secondary.iter().flat_map(|f| f.nodes.iter().copied()).collect();
         nodes.sort_unstable();
         nodes.dedup();
diff --git a/crates/solver/tests/contact.rs b/crates/solver/tests/contact.rs
index b9e7294..66b54c7 100644
--- a/crates/solver/tests/contact.rs
+++ b/crates/solver/tests/contact.rs
@@ -353,10 +353,6 @@ fn what_implicit_contact_refuses() {
     b.model.add_step(Step::new("Linear", Procedure::Static {}), None).unwrap();
     let e = fieldcraft_solver::solve_static(&b.model, Some("Linear"), &Limits::default()).unwrap_err().to_string();
     assert!(e.contains("interface") && e.contains("linear static"), "{e}");
-    // General contact.
-    let mut b = stacked(0.0, InitialPenetration::Adjust);
-    b.model.add_contact("all", Contact::new(ContactSurfaces::General { surface: None })).unwrap();
-    assert!(solve(&b.model).contains("general"));
     // Arc-length control.
     let mut b = stacked(0.0, InitialPenetration::Adjust);
     let arc = NonlinearStatic { arc_length: Some(ArcLength::default()), ..NonlinearStatic::default() };
@@ -560,3 +556,147 @@ fn what_ties_refuse() {
     let r = fieldcraft_solver::solve_static(&b.model, Some("Step"), &Limits::default()).unwrap();
     assert!(r.warnings.iter().all(|w| !w.contains("stay free")), "{:?}", r.warnings);
 }
+
+/// A C-shaped ring of rubber (an annulus of radii 1 and 1.5 with a 10° opening at +x, one hex8
+/// layer thick in z with z held: plane strain) whose two ends are pressed together through the
+/// outer nodes two elements from each end, against general (single-surface) contact on every
+/// exterior face of the body: Mooney–Rivlin, nearly incompressible, hybrid elements.
+fn c_ring(finite: bool, closing: f64) -> (Blocks, StaticResult) {
+    let mut b = Blocks::default();
+    let (n, open) = (36usize, 5f64.to_radians());
+    let angle = move |i: f64| open + i * (2.0 * std::f64::consts::PI - 2.0 * open);
+    b.block(ElementKind::Hex8, [n, 2, 1], |p| {
+        let (t, r) = (angle(p[0]), 1.5 - 0.5 * p[1]);
+        [r * t.cos(), r * t.sin(), 0.2 * p[2]]
+    });
+    let all: Vec<u32> = b.model.elements().keys().copied().collect();
+    b.model.add_set("all", Set { elements: all, ..Set::default() }).unwrap();
+    let rubber = Material {
+        elastic: Some(Elastic::Isotropic { young: 3.0, poisson: 0.499 }),
+        hyperelastic: Some(Hyperelastic::MooneyRivlin { c01: 0.1 }),
+        ..Material::default()
+    };
+    b.model.add_material("Rubber", rubber).unwrap();
+    b.model
+        .add_section(
+            "solid",
+            Section {
+                set: "all".into(),
+                material: "Rubber".into(),
+                kind: SectionKind::Solid {},
+                formulation: Formulation { hybrid: true, ..Formulation::default() },
+            },
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+    let settings = NonlinearStatic { nonlinear_geometry: finite, initial_increment: 0.1, max_increments: 200, ..NonlinearStatic::default() };
+    b.model.add_step(Step::new("Step", Procedure::NonlinearStatic(settings)), None).unwrap();
+    b.model.add_contact("self", Contact::new(ContactSurfaces::General { surface: None })).unwrap();
+    // The outer nodes two elements from each end close towards the axis of symmetry y = 0; the
+    // back of the ring is held in its plane; every node in z.
+    let step = 2.0 * std::f64::consts::PI - 2.0 * open;
+    let at = |x: [f64; 3], i: f64| {
+        ((x[0] * x[0] + x[1] * x[1]).sqrt() - 1.5).abs() < 1e-9
+            && (x[1].atan2(x[0]).rem_euclid(2.0 * std::f64::consts::PI) - angle(i)).abs() < 1e-6 * step
+    };
+    let near_end = 2.0 / n as f64;
+    b.bc("upper", [None, Some(-closing), None], move |x| at(x, near_end));
+    b.bc("lower", [None, Some(closing), None], move |x| at(x, 1.0 - near_end));
+    b.bc("back", [Some(0.0), Some(0.0), None], move |x| at(x, 0.5));
+    b.bc("plane", [None, None, Some(0.0)], |_| true);
+    let r = solve_nonlinear(&b.model, Some("Step"), &Limits::default()).unwrap();
+    report(&r);
+    (b, r)
+}
+
+/// Self-contact: the ring's two ends, faces of one body and one general contact, meet and press
+/// on each other without passing through, and the result keeps the model's mirror symmetry
+/// about y = 0.
+#[test]
+fn a_rubber_ring_closes_on_itself_without_penetration() {
+    for finite in [true] {
+        let (b, r) = c_ring(finite, 0.15);
+        let c = &r.contacts[0];
+        assert!(c.closed() > 0, "finite {finite}: the ends touch");
+        // No penetration beyond the augmented Lagrangian's tolerance.
+        assert!(c.penetration < 1e-4, "finite {finite}: {}", c.penetration);
+        let deformed = |l: u32| -> [f64; 3] {
+            let u = r.displacement[r.nodes.binary_search(&l).unwrap()];
+            let x = b.xyz[&l];
+            [x[0] + u[0], x[1] + u[1], x[2] + u[2]]
+        };
+        // The ends' nodes stay on their own side of the plane of symmetry, up to the overlap the
+        // mortar's weak (weighted) enforcement allows at the edge of a contact zone: a hundredth
+        // of the elements' size (0.25).
+        for (l, x) in &b.xyz {
+            let y = x[1];
+            if x[0] > 0.9 && y.abs() < 0.2 {
+                let d = deformed(*l);
+                assert!(d[1] * y.signum() >= -2.5e-3, "finite {finite}: node {l} crossed: {y} → {}", d[1]);
+            }
+        }
+        // Mirror symmetry: the node at (x, −y) moves as the mirror of the node at (x, y).
+        let mut checked = 0;
+        for (l, x) in &b.xyz {
+            let Some((m, _)) = b.xyz.iter().find(|(_, y)| (y[0] - x[0]).abs() < 1e-9 && (y[1] + x[1]).abs() < 1e-9 && (y[2] - x[2]).abs() < 1e-9)
+            else {
+                continue;
+            };
+            let (u, v) = (r.displacement[r.nodes.binary_search(l).unwrap()], r.displacement[r.nodes.binary_search(m).unwrap()]);
+            assert!((u[0] - v[0]).abs() < 1e-6 && (u[1] + v[1]).abs() < 1e-6, "finite {finite}: nodes {l}, {m}: {u:?} {v:?}");
+            checked += 1;
+        }
+        assert!(checked > 50, "{checked}");
+        eprintln!("finite {finite}: closed {} penetration {:.2e} force {:?}", c.closed(), c.penetration, c.force);
+    }
+}
+
+/// A rubber bellows (a quarter of a corrugated tube: three convolutions, mean radius 2, fold
+/// depth 0.5, wall 0.15, height 3) squeezed axially by 0.8 with general contact on all its faces:
+/// its folds close and press on one another, as in a boot seal. (Squeezed to half its height
+/// the step stalls at 57%: deeply folded rubber needs better increment control; see M7.)
+#[test]
+#[ignore = "heavy: cargo xtask test --heavy (CI heavy job)"]
+fn a_rubber_bellows_folds_onto_itself() {
+    let mut b = Blocks::default();
+    let (folds, height, depth, wall) = (3.0, 3.0, 0.5, 0.15);
+    let quarter = std::f64::consts::FRAC_PI_2;
+    b.block(ElementKind::Hex8, [4, 48, 1], move |p| {
+        let theta = quarter * p[0];
+        let s = p[1] * folds;
+        let tri = 1.0 - 2.0 * (s - s.floor() - 0.5).abs(); // 0 → 1 → 0 per convolution
+        let r = 2.0 + depth * tri + wall * p[2];
+        [r * theta.cos(), r * theta.sin(), height * p[1]]
+    });
+    let all: Vec<u32> = b.model.elements().keys().copied().collect();
+    b.model.add_set("all", Set { elements: all, ..Set::default() }).unwrap();
+    let rubber = Material {
+        elastic: Some(Elastic::Isotropic { young: 3.0, poisson: 0.499 }),
+        hyperelastic: Some(Hyperelastic::MooneyRivlin { c01: 0.1 }),
+        ..Material::default()
+    };
+    b.model.add_material("Rubber", rubber).unwrap();
+    b.model
+        .add_section(
+            "solid",
+            Section {
+                set: "all".into(),
+                material: "Rubber".into(),
+                kind: SectionKind::Solid {},
+                formulation: Formulation { hybrid: true, ..Formulation::default() },
+            },
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+    let settings = NonlinearStatic { initial_increment: 0.05, max_increment: 0.1, max_increments: 400, ..NonlinearStatic::default() };
+    b.model.add_step(Step::new("Step", Procedure::NonlinearStatic(settings)), None).unwrap();
+    b.model.add_contact("folds", Contact::new(ContactSurfaces::General { surface: None })).unwrap();
+    b.bc("x0", [Some(0.0), None, None], |x| near(x[0], 0.0));
+    b.bc("y0", [None, Some(0.0), None], |x| near(x[1], 0.0));
+    b.bc("base", [None, None, Some(0.0)], |x| near(x[2], 0.0));
+    b.bc("squeeze", [None, None, Some(-0.8)], move |x| near(x[2], height));
+    let r = solve_nonlinear(&b.model, Some("Step"), &Limits::default()).unwrap();
+    report(&r);
+    let c = &r.contacts[0];
+    eprintln!("closed {} penetration {:.2e} augmentations {}", c.closed(), c.penetration, c.augmentations);
+    assert!(c.closed() > 0, "the folds touch");
+    assert!(c.penetration < 1e-3 * wall, "{}", c.penetration);
+}