I finally got my old little setup cleared from my wooden based platform, my little 44x60" one. And I have a 4x8’ platform with a Homesote top on it. I want to put 1" or 2" pink or blue foam board on both of these for my base.
My question is: What kind of adhesive do I need to glue the foam to the wooden platform and can I use the same thing for the foam to homosote connection too? Or do I need something different.
Oh, plus any other advice would be helpful. To clearify, the 4x8’ was a platform my father had made for me when I was a kid, it really held up well after 20+ years, and the 44x60" was one I had built last winter as a starter jobby.
You need something that does not melt the foam. Most places like Lowes, Home Depot etc will carry special foam compatible adhesive. Liquid nails makes a product called something like “Liquid Nails for Projects”. I have more recently been using another product called “Nail Power latex foam board adhesive”. These all come in the tubes for use in those gun contraptions. I have also used latex caulk as and adhesive for foam. Just stay away from products like standard Liquid Nails, it will eat the foam rather quickly, I know this first hand. [banghead]
You can use these adhesives for both applications. I also have used it for cork road bed and gluing the track down.
I used latex caulk to secure the foam to plywood on my layout. I squirted the caulk all over the plywood in squiggly lines, spread it out with a putty knife then laid the foam on top. You have to be careful when you lay down the foam because the caulk has a pretty good grip and you can’t wiggle the foam around much. My layout is sectional, so I just turned it upside down on the floor and put weights all over it and left it for a couple of days. I use the same latex caulk to attach the cork roadbed to the foam and to attach the track to the cork roadbed. If you want to do this, spread the caulk very, very thin. If it oozes up around the ties you’ve got it too thick. Spread thin, it will hold the track and cork very well, but if you have to, you can still remove the track by sliding a putty knife under it. I just ripped up about 10 ft. of track and re-used it. I even salvaged some of the cork. Great stuff, that latex caulk.