Styrene Sheet Roads

[tcf511]

I've decided to do at least some of the roads on my layout with painted sheets of styrene. I've got them cut and painted in a color that looks realistic to me. What is the best adhesive to use to glue them to plywood? I know I need something that will spread smoothly and I need to ensure that the edges are down firmly. Can I use something like contact cement or are there better choices? Any help would be appreciated.

[AntonioFP45]

Contact cement would work, however, make sure that you have NO PLANS to remove those road sheets as once that cement cures, those sheets will come off along with chunks of plywood splinters.

[tommyr]

[#ditto]What Antonio said. You could use Liquid Nails or silicone caulk
Tom

[jfugate]

Yep, good advice on how to attach the styrene.

And as to doing the road itself, here's some more info:
http://siskiyou.railfan.net/model/constructionNotes/roads.html


(click for a larger image)

[Anonymous]

Years ago I used styrene to make a parking lot. I probably used Walther's Goo to fasten it to the homasote sheet, although I may have used wood glue. Over a period of weeks or months, the parking lot began to deform and bulge in bubbles. Besides the obvious advice to not use styrene, how can this problem be avoided in the future? Thanks for any insights.

[jrbernier]

Goo will attack styrene. The stuff is trapped under the styrene and you will se bubbles after time. I have used styrene for roads. I clean the surface and use a cheap contact type cement to adhere it. The very thin layer of glue seems o cause no problems, and U can sand/bondo the road surface smooth before I paint it.

Jim Bernier

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the information. Mystery solved. I won't be afraid to try styrene again but this time I won't use Goo.

[dehusman]

Be sure to test any solvent based cement to make sure it doesn't curl the styrene.

I tried tile adhesive, but it started to come loose after about 4-5 years on a module.

Hve you though about putting a piece of .020 or .040 styrene under the center of your roads to give them a "crown" like real roads?

Dave H.

[nslakediv]

I use liquid nails for foam projects, spread with a scrap piece of styrene, place the road section in adhesive, pull it back up to remove trapped air then press down again. This makes a good bond.

[tcf511]

Thanks for the replies. I like your website Joe it was helpful in terms of coloring. I don't think I'll try the plaster roadbase first though. Frustration with trying to use the Woodland Scenics road kit is what led me to styrene in the first place. My first attempt will be a downtown main street in a small 1950s town. I'll probably experiment with liquid nails and the caulk first and then pick one of those. Thanks everyone.

[pcarrell]

Liquid Nails, 5 minute epoxy, it's all good.

I usually ruff up the bottom side of my road with some 120 grit sandpaper first for a good bite.

Just make sure you get it in the right place the first time,...you won't get a second chance! [:D]

[Anonymous]

I'm a new guy so I'm thinking about different methods for doing roads. Has anyone thought about using a graphics program like Photoshop to generate the road surface? It would be possible to add special effects like potholes or cracks fairly easily. It would even be easy to generate curved roadway. Varying weather effects are possible. Any results could be saved and used multiple times. You could use an ordinary inkjet printer to print on a photo matte type paper. If laying down over foam it would be easy to deform the paper slightly to make more realistic potholes or cracks. If you wanted more texture, you could print on a watercolor paper or even canvas.

[Gillty]

I've seen a number of examples of Styrene sheet roads and I would like to use it on my layout but I don't know where to get it. Can any of you guys help me?


-Robert

[MisterBeasley]

I ordered a couple of big sheets of styrene from www.usplastic.com and I was really happy with the service and price. These are the "Rubbermaid" people, so they also sell garbage cans and janitorial supplies, but they do sell sheet styrene much cheaper than those little pieces you can buy at your LHS or online from train dealers. Instead of 3x5 inches, these are more like 3x5 feet.

[caldreamer]

I use rubber cement. It will hold the styrene when cured and is easily removed should the need arise. I use it to hold my buildings down. That way if I hve to change light bulbs in them I can pop them up without any damage by running an x-axto blade under the edge of the building, but they will NOT move should hands bump the buildng and the homosote is not damaged either.

[Jetrock]

Gillty: Check your yellow pages for a local plastics distributor--a 4x8 sheet of .020" plastic should cost about $5-7 tops. Adding cracks and holes to a sheet of thin styrene is pretty easy using an X-Acto knife. Filled seams can be added using a permanent marker with a fine-point tip.

[Anonymous]

I have used double sided carpet tape (sticky both sides) to attach signs to styrene. I also used the carpet tape to attach sandpaper to a wood surface for a tar paper roof. Just make sure all surfaces are clean and free of dust.

[pcarrell]

Boy, this is an old thread.

Since this came out I've been looking at another method to do roads on the new layout. It;

http://home.cablerocket.com/~crowley/ashphalt_roads.htm