Watching Glue Dry is exciting!

[bogp40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley

The Voice of Experience:

When I glued down my 2-inch pink foam to the benchwork rafters, I kept the weights on overnight. Then I moved the weights elsewhere and started doing trackwork. At some point, I realized I'd made a mistake and had to take some of the foam off.

Dude, it didn't come off. I had to cut it. Liquid Nails for Projects stays put after a few hours. The curing time they're referring to is probably for building skyscrapers, and even then, it's for legal reasons.

So, next December, buy your wife a pile of cookbooks. She'll love them. If they get used, yummy! If not, you've got your weights. Life is good.

The liquid nail dried overnight because of the open joists. Trapped glue between plywood and foam takes considerably longer. I have pulled apart foam scenery layers that were 2 weeks old, and some interior beads of glue scraped off with a putty knife. This is when I started to use ceramic tile cement spread w/ a notched trowel. The air trapped in the joint allows for drying and also makes a suction for initial tack and hold. This glue is cheap easy to use, also will work to bond plaster castings to foam, wood or to itself. If you still want to use liquid nail and want to speed drying, spread it out w/ a notched trowel works the same by trapping air.
Bob K.

[MisterBeasley]

Hmmm - my label says Liquid nails for Projects and (in little letters) Construction. No mention of foamboard, although it works for that. Contrary to the experience of my fellow Massachusettsian Mr. Knapp above, I couldn't get this stuff to stick to my Hydrocal castings, even when I globbed it on with a gravy ladle worthy of the first Thanksgiving. For that job, thanks to another post on yet another topic, I'm using silicone, which is working just fine. (Ask again in 12 months after a year of climate.)

Boy, this has become a sticky subject. Some of us are set in our ways, and others are just coming completely unglued.

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley
When I glued down my 2-inch pink foam to the benchwork rafters, I kept the weights on overnight. Then I moved the weights elsewhere and started doing trackwork. At some point, I realized I'd made a mistake and had to take some of the foam off.

Mr Beasley,

Did you use a plywood deck over the benchwork rafters ? Or did you just glue the foam directly to the rafters ?

[MisterBeasley]

I've got a frame only, with the rafters made of 1x3's, spaced at 16 inches. There is no plywood, so the foam is glued directly to the rafters. For the higher elevations, I built T-trestle supports from 1x2's and then glued the foam to those.

[bogp40]

MisterBeasley,
Try using the tile adhesive for those castings. I made no mention of Liquid Nail for that use.
Maybe the "origional" orange/red label would do the job.
Bob K.

[jacon12]

I let the first section alone with weight on it for about 4 or 5 days and took the weights off today. It 'seems' to be ok. I used the Liquid Nails for Projects and (in smaller letters foamboard. I believe it said on the tube that it worked for insulation. By that, I think they meant foamboard insulation. I'll leave this part alone about the same amount of time and then start laying track. Wish me luck!
Jarrell

[selector]

I read, early on in my time with MR forums (a whole four muntz alreddy!!) that LN for P takes quite a bit longer to dry than, say, Ohio Sealants PL200 and PL300. Many of the 'senior' modelers here use plain old white glue or carpenter's glue, but many also swear by silicone caulk.

I used PL300 in a warm, but relatively humid basement, and found it to be thoroughly set up in about five days. However, it no longer needed weights ,and was quite well bonded, in one day.

Jarrell, your basement or work area is probably humid. Also, if you use a lot of weights, your seal the area between the layers effectively, thus prolonging the drying time considerably. You might want to try leaving the weights off for several hours, not more than four or five, and then weighting the area for the next day or so. It might make a difference, assuming overall ambient humidity is not the real culprit.