What type of Liguid Nails is recommended for glueing roadbed to foam, and for glueing track to roadbed?
Frank
Well i just used regular foam glue that comes in the tubes from your local totem or Home depot. If you are gluing your track to the cork or wood you are using I would sudgest using nails instead. (Little nails that fit into the holes in the track ties that you can find at any hobby shop.)
Liquid Nails for Projects is for foam. Some folks have had good luck just using cheap latex caulk. I've tried it, but not in place long enough to make a recommendation. Do a search of some of the other threads for further information.
Good luck,
A product called PL-300.
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
Latex caulk on foam top bench and cork seems to work fine for me so far. Hot Glue Gun sat on the low temp setting works faster and you can work the cork quicker as well. Got booth from Wallmart. Glue gun was $10.00 US with two temp setting and Latex was $1.00 apx US. Booth work fine. With tha caulk you don't have to waite for the gun to warm up. Gule is ready to work in 2 minutes where calk is 2 hours or so.
Depending on my mood I use booth.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
John
Thanks for all your help guys.
AuTiger19 wrote:What type of Liguid Nails is recommended for glueing roadbed to foam, and for glueing track to roadbed?
Cheap Latex caulk gets my vote. Use the kind with no silicone. One to two bucks a tube. Works great for cork to foam and dries pretty fast, in an hour or two. I hold down the cork with short boards with paint cans, or other weights from around the shop, and can go quite a ways with all the weights I have. Track is easily held with a few nails and remove them later.
When (not if!) you need to remove a stretch of track or sme roadbed, the caulk is a "no brainer" to get apart and you can salvage the pieces just fine for re-use, using a putty knife. Many times the liquid nails won't come apart without destruction.
John is right about the extra noise from hard liquid nails too. Just spread it really thin with a putty knife, and enjoy the delights of cheap and quiet!!
-Bill
I've used both Liquid Nails (for Projects) and latex caulk, and to me it comes down to cost. The cheapest I've found Liquid Nails was about $1.49 a tube, whereas I've found a 4-pack of latex caulk at Wally World (Wal-Mart) for $3.88. Now, I use the caulk exclusively; for foam, roadbed (cork) and for attaching the track to the roadbed. If you use it for track, make sure the layer is super thin. If it squishes up between the ties, you've used too much.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Frank,
1st:
2nd War Eagle!
War Eagle Sapper82.
Were you ever from around the Auburn area?
Can latex caulk be used to glue track to foam?I would rather not use cork.
Thanks,Vince
Absolutely. Again, you don't need much, but using track nails and/or food cans placed on their sides atop the rails while the caulking dries is highly advised. You can remove the nails easily any time and of course the cans have to go eventually.
Grew up 18 miles west, down Alabama Hwy 14...5 miles outside Notasulga.
Went to every home football game from 1966 till I graduated in 1982.
spidge wrote:I suggest you not use the liquid nails for the track or cork as it dries hard and amplifies noise. Use clear paintable caulking. Use a thin layer, you will be surprised how well it holds. On my layout I used liquid nails in my hidden staging and you can tell when something is moving.
Spidge is correct, Anything that dries hard or firm will amplify noise.I originally tried some WHITE ELMERS glue, to hold down my WS foam roadbed on 2 inch foam. Noise was HORRIFIC when running a train, so I pulled it back up VERRRYYY CAREFULLY!!! and redid the whole first loop of track with latex caulk.It was a verrryyy time consuming job to redo about 60 feet of track!The end result was that the noise was MUCH LESS!!!!
I first did about 6 feet, and when I ran a train over it, the noise just dropped dramatically as the train went over the section that I had redone with latex caulk.So this proved that it worked, so I redid the rest of my trackbed.Another way to quiet the noise factor is to put fiberglass batting insualtion under the layout, if you can do so.Mine is built like a bed slat framework, and the insulation fits in place with just a few extra strips of wood screwed in to hold it in place, and can be easily removed to work under the tables.My layout is 24 feet long by 6 feet wide, each table being 6 by 8 feet, and fastend end to end together.I used 1x4's on the ooutside framework, 1x3's as cross pieces, with 2x4 legs, with 2 inch foam base.The legs screw into place with diagonal supports also screwed into place.It is very STRONG overall, LIGHTWEIGHT, and CAN be taken APART and MOVED easily.My buddy Denny who helped me build it, we took one of the 6x8 tabletops with legs detached and easily took it up my basement staircase as an experiment.On the bottom of each 2x4 leg, I put leveling pads that screw in, so I can get the whole layout 0-0 level.
TheK4Kid
Wrangler wrote: Can latex caulk be used to glue track to foam?I would rather not use cork.Thanks,Vince
Absolutely is CORRECT!!
I took Joe Fugate's advice shown on one of his videos , he uses grey latex to attach the track to the roadbed, since it approximtaes his ballast in color.It DOESN'T take much caulk, use it sparingly, or it will get all over the ties.I would advise to put a small bead down, then use an old credit card, or putty knife of some kind to spread the caulk evenly, then place your track down on it.I use modelrs "T" pins to hold the track in place until the caulk dries, and I also use a straight edge to keep the track staright on straight sections, curves-I EYEBALL them.
I just finished the major tracklaying on my On30 layout (about 80' of track).
I used Woodland Scenics Foam Tack Glue after some experiments. The Peco and ME track is laid directly on the 2" foam base.
My main interests were twofold: will it hold the track in place (YES) and can the track be removed if desired (yes, using a flexible spatula underneath the track, at least the Peco). removed track is still usable.
the noise IS an issue, but not too great since all trains have sound anyway.
the ME code 83 track was just too difficult to work with, and certainly not sturdy enough for traveling modules, which these may do. I used what I had anyway, but the Peco track and turnouts are definitely my choice.
my basement is airconditioned year round, so hopefully humidity and expansion will not be a problem.
no long term experience, track has only been down 2 weeks!!!
Don't glue down the turnouts!
Michael Hewitt
Hampstead, NC
Yes. Silicone doesn't take weathering as well as the caulk, and it will probably damage/destroy any foam with which it comes in contact.
Simply put, the cheapest latex caulking you can find is all you need...no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It is less costly than the equivalent volume of silicone, and it works better from a modelling standpoint.