General Discussion (Model Railroader)

My layout is blue foam board glued down to plywood with Elmer's wood glue with news paper glued down on top of that with a mixture of 50% water and 50% wood glue covered with plaster. I built it four and a half years ago and haven't had any problems with it.

The trick is to paint a heavy coat of wood glue on your plywood with paint brush, put your foam board down and put heavy books on it to hold it down tight until it dries which will take three or four days at 80 degrees - at least it did on mine.

Good luck.

Tracklayer

What kind of paper?  Are you putting up something like a pre-printed background scene on a vertical sheet of foam?  Or is this more like scenery-building with old newspaper and plaster?

White glue will hold stuff to foam board, but it may take some time to dry completely.  The same goes for latex caulk.  However, if you care about what's printed on the face of the paper, like a background scene, then you need something that won't seep through.  You might try some sort of spray adhesive, but test it first to see that it won't eat the foam.

OK, here's the whole story. I drew plans for a 2-track timber tunnel portal on graph paper. After cutting out the profile of the portal, I pinned it to blue foam board and, using the paper as a template, cut the foam to the identical shape. Then I scratch-built the portal by gluing the wood right over the graph paper. Result: paper-backed wood that I now need to glue to the foam. That's why I need to find an adhesive that will attach paper to foam.

Thanks to you all.

When you say "blue foam board," are you referring to the stuff used for building insulation, either 1 or 2 inches thick, that you get at Home Depot or Lowes, or the quarter-inch thick "presentation board" from Staples or an art supply place?

Either way, I think white glue should do the job for you.  Lay the board down horizontally, spread on the glue and place the portal over it.  Put a book or something similar on top to add weight, and leave it overnight.  You might want to put a paper towel under it to catch anything that squeezes out the sides when you press the pieces together.

I would use 3M77 works great

JIM

I use printed paper templates when I lay out my turnouts. I use diluted  white glue to hold them in place. I just brush it on to the foam and lay the template in place. A plastic squeegee removes any air bubbles.