Anyone have any tips for using this styrene product? It is basically a sheet of styrene with very small (.5mm or less) grooves on one side. In the package are strips of styrene (1mm wide x width of said tiny groove). There are no instructions, of course, but I've been told that the very narrow strips are to be placed with an edge in the grooves.
My question is; how does one hold the strip while attempting to get all of it in the groove? Obviously a magnifying glass (held in one's third hand) will help. Once the strip is in place, one must be extremely careful not to touch it with the glue applicator (mini-sponge seems appropriate) and knock it out-of-place.
Anyone having experience with this product have any tips, suggestions? It looks like a very protypical roofing/siding method... assuming one has the dexterity and patience.
Thanks!
(talking to myself...)
Looking at the image on the Evergreen site, the "Standing Seams" appear to be either molded on (extruded) or the extra strips are laid (flat) on the sheet.
I think the normal method will be to tack one end of a strip and work carefully toward the other end. Perhaps a 'tacky' glue may be better until the entire strip is in the slot.
I used this roofing a few years ago on a project. As I recall, I held the small strip in the groove with a finger and applied Testors liquid glue with a micro brush. Once the glue wicks into the groove, it holds the strip in place until it sets up. Just don't mess with it except for minor adjustments.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I just finshed a roof with this system. The roof was cut to size, the strip were made a little longer and then trimed.
I used the Fuller cement with the long tube/needle. Layed a bead in grove,then the strip,start at one end and work it across.. The strips stand up quite easly. you may have to go back and re glue a few spots.
It wasn't ashard as it may look. Go slow and I could ony do about half the roof pannel at a time.[my hands get unsteady after a bit]
Haven't got it painted yet but looks good so far
Note; when you cut the roof pannles, make sure the grooves line up at the peak. mine are off just a hair
Thanks for such quick and useful answers!
@ G. Paine
Just don't mess with it except for minor adjustments.
@Unckebutch
I used the Fuller cement with the long tube/needle
I think I'll grab a magnifying visor from Harbor Freight for $5 (!) first.
x-airbusdriver think "Fuller" is a brand name. Is what you mentioned a plastic/styrene "welding" type liquid?
Yes your correct. I picked it up on a whim,to try. It has a little more working time, so you can adjust things. And I found the tube/needle to be handy. It does have a stronger smell, and the tube/needle can be troublesome to keep clear between jobs.
I have a few metal (standing seam tin) roofs on buildings using Evergreen's sheet plastic product. I just fit the standing seam into the groove and bottle liquid glued it.
You guys may mean ''FALLER" glue and not "FULLER".
I would start at one end holding the standing seam part in the groove with one finger and the thumb (or a ''U'' shaped piece of old HO code 100 brass rail) about 3'' apart and tack with glue between those digits then move down the seam and tack again between the two digits, then go back and finish the untacked area at the starting postion then move to second postion and finish and keep moving down the seam this way. Keeps the glue off the fingers.
Now if you had that roof put on before WWII, the roofing came in tin sheets 20'' x 28'' and had to be seamed together at the 20'' ends to make a course as long as you needed, with the standing seams being 17-1/4'' apart from each other and the length from flat seam to flat seam appoxametly 27-1/4''. So roughly a scribed line across the course from standing seam to standing seam every 27'' down the course.
If your roof was put on after WWII, then the tin roofing came in rolls, one long piece, no seams. I can not remember how many feet in a roll at this time. I will check at the shop tomorrow, maybe I'll find some more info. Now about the comb or ridge seam, (the top edges where both sides on peaked roof came together), we staggered the standing seams at 1'' or 2'' because when you folded the top edges from both sides together you did not want all that wrapped tin created by the standing seams on both roof sides at one spot, one side alone would have six thickness of sheeting at the seam.
Now starting at the top of the tin roofing the standing seam would be hammered down (folded over) with a wooden mallet about 16'' down the course and up from the bottom the course would be folded over also, this flatten standing seam at the bottom would let you bend the overhang down. So... you would want to trim/shave the standing seam at the top and bottom to look flatten down. Now back up to the comb/ridge seam, the tops of both sides would be seamed up like the standing seams and folded together like you did the standing seams.
Putting on a standing seam tin roof in the old days was hard work, one seam at a time, bend up, bend up, bend over fold down, bend over fold down now squeeze and stomp. On a hot day you got blisters on your hands and feet, if the sun was out you would be blinded, if it started to get misty (wet) on a sloped roof, get off the roof or go for a bad ride. Want to do something cool? Get a HO roofing crew and finish all but a quarter of a house roof in shiney new tin standing seam some where on your layout. The unfinished part would be real wood, could be new sheeting or old wood boards, your choice.
If you want to go one more step farther for a old finished roof, sand some very light bellys in the course's, these tin roofs were never glass smooth. Then paint with color of your choice, mostly a red or silver. Now flow some of that alcohol base pigment stuff (I don't think I can say the name of manufacture on here, they come in little brown plastic bottles),You may have to be a Hunter to find the stuff. Then as it runs down the roof it will puddle in those bellys and when the alcohol dries up and the dirty color stays, you got a nice little dirt catcher.
That's some useful information about the prototype PC101 - thanks for sharing it!
Wayne
Thanks PC101! Seems (no pun intended, of course) these roofs are much easier to install now! Just hope they also work as well or better!
"... I just fit the standing seam into the groove and bottle liquid glued it. ..." I think we've 'nailed down' (the underlayment!) where the tiny strip goes and what to do once it's there. My question arose by the behavior of the little things having a mind of their own and their desire to not stay in that groove. My $5 magnifying visor (with lights!) from Harbor Freight will come in handy!
I think I will try using a non-styrene, thin, straight 'guide' to rest the strip against while positioning it into the slot. Hopfully I can then touch the ends of the strip and then remove the 'guide' and finish gluing any spots where the glue did not flow.
Aside related to roof peak: Current SS roofing often has a 'cap' (with or without venting) at the roof peak. I plan on using some 12" or 18" wide strips to simulate that and hide any mismatch of the edges of the two sides of roofing. I had planned on matching the seams not knowing of the ancient art of this roofing method! But I will remember this info should I get any remarks about seams not matching!
BTW, here is a group of animated instructions for one brand of roofing that might help DIYers installing the real item.
doctorwayneThat's some useful information about the prototype PC101 - thanks for sharing it!
Yes, I already knew some of that, But PC101 filled in the blanks THANK YOU
x-airbusdriver,
Without wishing to seem impolite, I think you might be making a mountain out of a mole hill! It's just not that difficult.
Lay the roofing sheet flat. Lay one end of the raised seam strip in the groove narrow side down on the roofing. Add a little liquid styrene cement (I use Tamiya Ultra Thin - works great) to hold the end in place, and then simply place the raised seam strip in the groove and apply cement sparingly as you go along. I emphasize the word 'sparingly'. Too much glue and the roof sheet will start to 'cup' as the cement dries, i.e. curl towards the raised seam side.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hey! I was born in "the delta" and there are no moutains in western TN! The only way to get any mountains around here is to make them!!! And we have plenty of moles to help us get started!!!!
OTOH, you may be more write than rong.
First, I wasn't even sure how the "seams" went. But that was rather obvious once I saw they exactly fit into the slot. Then I was 'messin' (sorry for the technical jargon) with a full length 'seam' part while trying to get it into a rather short scrap piece of the roofing. The floppy 'seam' did not want to 'cooperate' under those conditions.
During this whole process I have gathered and glued the roof sheeting. Along with all the tips and suggestions to this thread, I think I can give the 'contractor' the go ahead! He (I) glued a solid sheet of styrene to the back of the roofing material to add support to the rather thin roof sheet. This extra sheet also keeps the roof aligned on the building without gluing it on. I am doing this roof to help a friend and I think he wants to keep the roof removable. This doubling of the roof should also help prevent the 'cupping' you mention. I have 'discovered' micro brushes and find them very useful in gluing as well as painting.
I'm returning to modeling after several decades and have probably forgot most of anything I 'learned' back then! Thanks for the reminders and encouragements!
Completed the roof late last week! Thanks again for all the tips and suggestions! Adding the seams was a bit tedious, but I really like the results!
One thing I discovered was that it may be best to work on one side (assuming a peaked roof) of the roof at a time. Even then I found that it was easier to work on every other seam rather than one after another. My fat fingers may have something to do with that! I kept the ends of the seams fairly close to the peak but pre-cut them a fair bit longer than needed. Since most standing seam roofs have some kind of longitudinal piece (vent) along the peak, you will never see any gaps in the base nor the standing seam pieces. The overhanging ends of each seam can be easily be trimmed flush when finished. I plan on using 5/32 angle around the perimeter to simulate guttering/fachia.
I was not satisfied with my first attempt however. Since the base material is only 6 inches wide, I had to splice it. In my first attempt, I cut as close as possible to the slot for the seam. Unfortunately, I seem to have cut the slot off!!
On my second attempt, I cut between the slots (on both pieces) to be sure I did not damage that tiny slot. I decided to waste just a bit of flat material and use sandpaper to remove excess plastic from one side to make the joint as exact as possible and keep the spacing between seams correct. That worked great on one side of the roof. On the other side I should have been more careful and ended up with a tiny gap. I filled the gap with some home-made styrene 'goop'. I'll give it at least a day to dry/shrink(?) and sand it down. I made the filler from an ancient bottle of "Pactra Liquid Cement" and lots of very small styrene scraps. I may be slow, but I'm cheap!!