I have quite a lot of flextrack from previous endeavors. There is still a lot of latex caulk on the bottom and in between the ties. I would like to use it over as it has had little use. It was just in the wrong place.
I removed it from the cork roadbed with a thin spatula but there is a lot left that would cause misalignment if just re glued down.
73
Bruce in the Peg
For caulk between the ties, I've used a sharp utility knife, or a hobby knife with #11 blade.
For caulk under the ties, I found that if I could get a grip on an edge or corner it could be lifted in one piece, sort of like peeling a self-stick label. The odd leftover bits were massaged away with my thumbs.
My worst case was some I test-laid on a fiber ceiling tile when I started to experiment with caulk. When it came up it brought a lot of fiber with it - looked like a big woolybooger! I cleaned it as described and it has been giving trouble-free service as part of the Down main track at Nonomura for two years now.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with latex caulk and re-lay flex track)
This is one of the reasons why I use yellow glue instead of caulk. It comes off very easy with a putty knife.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
jbinkley60 This is one of the reasons why I use yellow glue instead of caulk. It comes off very easy with a putty knife.
It doesn't get any easier then just grab ahold of the caulk and pull it off. The little thats left on there after that you just rub with your thumb for about a half a second and it balls up and falls off. The only tools necessary are those that God gave you.....your hands!
Now if it's an adhesive, then you're in a whole different mess!
This is how I remove it.
Lay the track up-side-down on a flat surface. Use a putty knife to remove as much caulk as possible from the bottom. Next, I use a small wire brush and brush across the track, then with a circular motion to get between the ties. Most of it will come off this way for me.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
If there's that much caulk on the bottom of your track you're probably using too much. When I pulled up a siding I decided I didn't want because it really served no purpose other than to eat up a turnout, the remaining residual caulk on the bottom was bits thinner than a piece of paper. And not even a solid web from tie to tie - I don;t go nuts if I don;t get the entire roadbed coated with caulk in the middle of a track section - I DO make sure there is enough at the ends to keep the track joints stable. A teeny tiny bit is all it takes.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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