DAP lightweight wall patch and Great Stuff

[Anonymous]

I am working on filling the gaps and initial terraforming my all-foam layout.

I have had some mixed results with Great Stuff - it is good for filling big gaps on the sub-beds and giving enhanced structural stability. It is not good for filling into the WS foam risers - the Great Stuff will slowly expand with enough force to lift roadbed and track off and uneven. I had to remove my roadbed and track and cut-off the excess Great Stuff.

DAP ltw spackle appears to be a foam-type spackle. Weighs very little compared to the regular spackle/mud and very easy to apply. I am very happy with it so far and it supposedly will not shrink or crack. An alternative to Sculptamold and paper mache.

[Anonymous]

My new layout, also all foam with a thin wood outer framework, is being constructed in sections designed to be portable and extremely lightweight. DAP Lightweight Spackle is a great product for this. A container of it feels empty when you first pick it up in the store.

As you point out, there haven't been any cracking problems with it as it is somewhat flexible. I havn't tried using it in rubber molds yet but I've had good luck using crumpled aluminum foil with it for all my cliffs & outcroppings. I filled the "molds," put them in place on the layout and using a blunt pencil point, created striation and crack lines by "drawing" them into the foil. It may be a function of the foil and the foam contour behind but it takes a good 24 hours to harden enough to remove the foil.

For stone structure walls, I've experimented with it by creating flat sheets of it by spreading it over fiberglas screening (for reinforcement) covering it with thin plastic and flattening it with a rolling pin. (I laid two parallel strips of 1/8" wood to maintain thickness.) The sheets can be cut as easily as balsa and embossed to represent stone.

The downside to the product is that it is expensive, especially in smaller containers but I think the weight and other attributes make it worthwhile for my use.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

Wow,

the foil "molding" technique for cliffs and screen stone is a great tip!

[bogp40]

Great stuff - a little goes a long way- I find that I will place too much even when I use it fairly often. I had a customer use it on his new windows- took a sawzall to make the windows work again- jambed the sash and wouldn't budge.