One Clear adhesive for wood, foam, cork and track?

[jjdamnit]

Hello All,

Yes, you have expressed this before in the above linked post...

rrinker

I don't think there's any difference in the behavior of latex caulk compared to silicone. And that horrible acetic acid smell of silicone caulk - no thanks. I made the mistake of getting a tube to seal up the cracks around the window in my old basement. That was a worse smell than ANYTHING I ever did in the basement model railroad related. For caulking the OUTSIDE of my house - no problem. I would always use silicone caulk, it lasts longer than latex when used for exterior things. But latex rubs right off the materials like the cork or the track, and it doesn't need 24 hours to set up. --Randy

So, don't use it!

For others it matters not.

I have the same loathing to Homasote® and cork roadbed so I just don't use it.

Hope this helps.

[rrinker]

 One reason I hate using silicone caulk indoors is the horrible smell. Super strong acetic acid odor with most brands. And none of the features that make it better for water sealing are of any benefit for tracklaying.

                               --Randy

[jjdamnit]

Hello All,

I use General Electric (GE) Silicone I or II clear caulk.

The difference between the two is the Silicon II is "Rain Ready" in 30-minutes.

I know Lowe's carries both these products. You will need a caulk gun to apply these.

Check out this thread: Gluing cork roadbed to foam base.

Hope this helps.

[Santa Fe all the way!]

Thanks guys, Im going to try the Polyseamseal clear.

[Santa Fe all the way!]

I wasn't successful at Lowes last night. Couldn't find some of your suggested products. I'm going to get something online. Thanks for the suggestions  

 

[selector]

I have successfully used DAP Alex Plus with Silicone, and I use the 'dries clear' variety.  It does dry clear, but it goes on creamy white, like Nivea Cream.  Also, it doesn't dry water-clear, but is slightly yellow.

[BATMAN]

nealknows

Wiil the adhesive work on gluing plastic models (Walthers structure) to foam core? I am making one of my structures into a flat structure as space is a premium.

Thank you to all who reply..

Neal

 

What I have done in the past is glue small magnets to the structure and the surface it is to be attached to and attach it that way. It is then easy to remove the structure if need be.

[nealknows]

Wiil the adhesive work on gluing plastic models (Walthers structure) to foam core? I am making one of my structures into a flat structure as space is a premium.

Thank you to all who reply..

Neal

[Medina1128]

I use the cheap brand that Walmart sells. It's a white acrylic latex caulk, and I use it to hold roadbed and track. The technique for gluing track down takes a little practice. You don't want to use so much that it squeezes between the ties. I run a bead about 1/4" wide, then spread it smooch with a putty knife. The layer is so thin, you can almost see through it. I use push pins or a section of 1x4 with weight to hold it in place until the caulk sets (about 24 hours). The gaps will be filled with styrene and dressed smooth, and will be almost invisible once the track is weathered. The edge of the roadbed will be sanded to get rid of the rough edge. I now do the sanding as soon as the caulk holding the roadbed has set up and before gluing the track into place. 
As far as gluing the roadbed in place, I run a "snake" pattern of caulk and spread it with a putty knife but leaving it a little thicker than what I use to affix the track. 

[rrinker]

 Polyseamseal brand adhesive caulk, there's also a DAP adhesive caulk. I've used both, for all 3 things across two layouts now. Brand does not seem to matter, it's all pretty much the same. No reason to use anything with silicone, and certainly not pure silicone caulking - I save that for caulking up things on the exterior of my house, as it definitely works better and lasts longer than latex when exposed to the elements like that. 

 The clear form of these thigns comes out of the tue white, but dries clear. So you can see it to work with it, but once set, it's clear (but shiny - I really think I may use the grey next time, to blend in with my ballast). I didn;t check prices, if white is the cheapest, I may use that for the hidden joints - like cork/homasote to the plywood, and save the clear or grey for track to roadbed where it will be seen. If there IS a price difference - it's pennies per tube, so probably not worthwhile as a money saving measure.

                                    --Randy

 

[Santa Fe all the way!]

I know this has been covered before, but I can't find it by doing a search. Is there 1 clear adhesive that you can use to glue foam to wood, foam to foam, cork to foam and track to cork? Brand and product name please. Thank you.