Is this Caulk good?

[Medina1128]

 I used Liquid Nails, too, but then I discovered Gorilla Glue (a little goes a long way).

[Toddster]

Yes, Liquid Nails for Projects and Foamboard Adhesive (LN-604) has been widely used and well recommended.  It is hard to get at big stores, but online, no problem.

http://www.ronshomeandhardware.com/10-5OZ-Latex-Liquid-Nails-p/421289.htm

 

 

[rrebell]

You put a couple of beads of caulk on your proposed right-of-way and take a putty knife and make a thin (but not too thin) area of caulk wider than your sub-roadbed (around 1/16 inch is fine). Set your subroadbed (cork in my case) into it and adjust it to your center-line (if you have any low areas you can just apply more caulk just make sure your sub-roadbed is flat). Let dry and do the same with your track leaving a space under the throw-bar area of your turnouts ( I know some that just caulk the ends of turnouts and let the rest float as they use the more rigid turnouts most of us use).

[train18393]

mj,

personally I used  lots of Liquid Nails for Foamboard, and for Projects as I have the blue Dow foam as a layout base. Looking at the link you have provided Its specs sound about the same as either of the two aformentioned products I have used. If it is not to expensive, try a test gluingnot on your layout and see if it melts your plastic ties or the roadbed. It does say safe on some plastics.  

Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR

[gjvjr50]

 

I understand for I'm on a fixed income too.  I don,t need to run trains three hours after laying track

[Medina1128]

krupa

Medina1128

 For the same price, I can get a 4-pack of acrylic latex caulk at Wal-Mart.

 

For a little bit more, I can get one tube at a locally owned and operated hardware store. 

There should be more factors in an individual's purchasing decision than just price.

 

When you're on a fixed income - price is more of a determining factor.

[c&oj3a604]

After reading reading all the posts I'm considering using Caulk.  But My Question is : Do You Directly spread out the Caulk onto the road bead or apply it to track first?  Do you spread out the caulk with a putty knife or other tool?  I would greatly appreciate any information you can provide.

Thanks

[Allegheny2-6-6-6]

 This is the stuff you want if you read Tony Koester's contribution to Realistic Reliable Track you'll see where he mentions that this is the only latex adhesive caulk you want to use. Make sure you get the clear, the white will be fine for holding down what ever you use for roadbed but the clear is a better choice for holding track to roadbed. I have experimented with the cheaper brands but they have longer cure times and are not as good as the DAP product. It's pretty much available in all the big box stores.

 

 

 http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?BrandID=25&SubcatID=26

[rrebell]

What you want is siliconized latex caulk, any brand will due and usually cost around $2.00 a tube.

[dknelson]

It (super glue) isn't needed.  The adhesive caulk holds flex track by itself

Dave Nelson

[rrinker]

mjmueller

Thanks guys for all the reply's.  I wanted to run one more thing by you all.  I have a friend that says he strategically places drops of superglue and then puts little pins in to hold the track down.  Then after the ballasting all is held down nice and tight. 

 Do you guys think this is a good option?

 mj

 I suppose it would work but as I tend to save ballasting for last, I wouldn't trust it - there's not goign to be a good enough bond between the track and roadbed with CA, and it would be fairly easy to dislodge. I'd stick with the caulk.

                                                  --Randy

[krupa]

Medina1128

 For the same price, I can get a 4-pack of acrylic latex caulk at Wal-Mart.

 

For a little bit more, I can get one tube at a locally owned and operated hardware store. 

There should be more factors in an individual's purchasing decision than just price.

[tstage]

mj, 

Since ballasting is one of the last things you should do when scenicking, I would opt for the latex caulk adhesive.  As mentioned, it remains flexible and pliant when cured.  If you ever needed to repair or alter your trackwork, caulk makes this much easier and less destructive than glues to peel it up.

Tom

[Medina1128]

 For the same price, I can get a 4-pack of acrylic latex caulk at Wal-Mart.

[mjmueller]

Thanks guys for all the reply's.  I wanted to run one more thing by you all.  I have a friend that says he strategically places drops of superglue and then puts little pins in to hold the track down.  Then after the ballasting all is held down nice and tight. 

 Do you guys think this is a good option?

 mj

[dknelson]

I use the same make of caulk (OSI) for my tracklaying -- comes out white, dries clear, water cleanup.  This is an adhesive caulk, not a bathtub sealant.   Some guys say they have good success with the caulk that comes out gray.   DAP makes a variety of products, some of which have silicone and some do not.  I have also used DAP products with good success but it seems just slightly harder to spread than the OSI product.  DAP was the originally recommended brand when Chuck Hitchcock first wrote about using latex adhesive caulk to lay track in Model Railroader some years back.  that was the first time I heard of the method and I have been using it ever since (he also wrote about using topper tape from auto parts stores but I have never tried it)

The continued flexibility of latex caulk that Tom mentions in the immediately-above post also aids in noise reduction, in my experience. 

Dave Nelson

[tstage]

mj,

Not that I'm aware of.  I use the DAP for:

• foam -> foam
• foam -> cork
• cork -> cork
• cork -> track
• track -> wood
• wood -> foam
• foam -> styrene
• etc.
  

As I mentioned in the other post, it holds very well.  And, if I ever need to make a change: A broad putty knife and some steady pressure will break the bond between the two parts.

The other plus to caulk adhesive that I forgot to mention is that it remains flexible after it cures; unlike white or yellow glue that dries hard and brittle.

Tom

[mjmueller]

Thank guys:

 I was wondering about the DAP.  In the link it says it has Silicone in it.  I thought Silicone was bad for this.

 mj

[rrinker]

mjmueller

Hi Guys:

 I got a tub of this for gluing the track to the cork.  Is this the right product?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xkk/R-100119495/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks,

 

mj

 That's the one I use exclusively. Now on my second layout using that caulk for pretty much everything - roadbed to foam, and track to roadbed. And I totally forgot my old test of using it to fasten a Tortoise to the bottom of the foam - I should do that with my servos I am using now, although this time I did put a layer of plywood under it all.

                                    --Randy

[tstage]

mj,

From what I can surmise, it should work just fine.  FWIW, I use DAP Alex Plus Acrylic Latex Caulk for adhering just about anything onto my layout.  It holds very well, cures quickly, very low-odor, contains no nasty chemicals, comes in different colors, and costs 50% less ($2/tube) than the product in the link.

Tom

[mjmueller]

Hi Guys:

 I got a tub of this for gluing the track to the cork.  Is this the right product?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xkk/R-100119495/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks,

 

mj