I have been using white adhesive caulk to attach my roadbed and track with no problems. I now need to use some clear caulk. Which brand or type should I use? I think I read on here somewhere to avoid caulk that has silicone in it. All the clear one's I saw at Home Depot had silicone in them. Is there a brand I am missing?
That's a tough question? Without knowing what you are trying to do. So what are you trying to do with this caulk?
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
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What was the brand you were using in the "white"? If you were happy w/ the results use their translucent/ clear.
If whatever Brand you're using doesn't have the translucent/ clear, look into Dap Alex plus. The tube w/ the blue instead of green, I believe is silicone free. Most all "Painter's" caulk that contains some silicone is still paintable if this is the issue you're not wanting to use it.
If this is for track laying try using the gray. Any small amounts of caulk that may show won't be as bad as showing white.
Don't bother w/ Phenoseal, it is faily expensive and wants to skin/ dry too quickly. Yes is is probably the best "Adhesive" caulk but Dap works far better for track and foam purposes.
Edit: At the jobsite today, I happeded to check the Dap Alex Plus had both . The green labeled is "silicone free" the blue is siliconized.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I use DAP clear with silicone. It works fine.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I use Polyseamseal brand clear.
It doesn't really matter, in the end it's all the same. Probably identical even with the types of volatiles and everything, if you read the labels. Get the cheapest.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I used the phenoseal because it was the only clear stuff the store had. Worked fine but as noted earlier was a bit expensive.
Springfield PA
What you want is siliconized latex caulk (not silicon).
I plan to use DAP Alex Plus Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone to glue down my cork roadbed and track. This is the caulk with a 35 year guarantee. I can get it at my local Walmart for less than $2.00/ 10.1 oz. tube. It can be cleaned-up with water and it's paintable.
As someone has pointed out in this thread, there is confusion about siliconized caulk and silicone caulk. The DAP product is siliconized and is what many people use in model RR applications. GE makes a silicone caulk that cannot be painted and has a very strong vinegar (acetic acid) odor, as I recall. You do not want to use this GE caulk.
Bob
FYI the caulk gun size tube is cheaper than the toothpaste size tube of the same stuff and a partially used tube stores for quite a long time and is easily reopened when caulk is dried in the tube.
Dave,
I agree. The 10.1 fl. oz. tube is the standard caulking gun size tube. I've not seen the DAP Alex Plus caulk in the larger contractor size tubes like those in which Liquid Nails comes.
I close the tip of a partially used tube of caulk with an aluminum nail (or something else that will not rust) and then wrap a piece of black plastic electrical tape around the tip.
Definitely, unless you are building a 1 square foot diorama, get the big tubes and buy a caulk gun (under $2). The full tubes are only slightly more expensive than those little squeeze tubes and are about 3x as much material.
Tip for roadbed and track, the ends on the big tubes have rings around them marked for where to cut to get various size beads. ALL of them are too big for our use, you need to cut closer to the tip to get a smaller opening. There is also a foil inner seal ont he tube - if you were using this for the intended purposes the hole you make is large enough to poke a nail in there to pierce the inner foil. When cut at a good size for laying roadbed and track without making a goopy mess, the opening tends to be little alrger than #20 wire - so I use a piece of my #20 feeder wire to poke through the foil. Since it's solid and not stranded wire it's stiff enough for this purpose. The size hole I make is just about perfect to seal up with one of the pushpins I use to hold the track while the caulk dries - these are not the little colored plastic pushpins, but the longer all metal type with the 'handle' end bent in a squiggle to provide a place to grab it.
None of the caulk I use mentions anything about silicon or siliconized. All it says on the label is latex adhesive caulk. It seems that this stuff is liek motor oil - there's genuine dino-juice, synthetic blends that mix synthetic with the real deal, and the full synthetic. In caulk it seems the 'siliconized' stuff mixes in some silicon witht he latex which, for the intended types of uses, would make it last longer than plain latex, but not as long as pure silicon and also cheaper. We don;t really need this extra ability for track and roadbed work.
If any paint, glue, scenery, etc. is to be done over it after drying, make sure you use a paintable caulk. Silicone is not paintable. It will stick like crazy to just about anything while it's wet coming out of the tube. After drying, about the only thing that will stick to it is more silicone.
Martin Myers