Whats the best way to secure HOn3 track to blue foam that I am using as a table top. Spikes of coarse aren’t going to work. I am working with flex track for the curves as they don’t make snap track for us narrow gaugers. I am wondering about that self adhesive roadbed I have seen in my travels at shows. I dont want a high ballested track as this is a logging line that would have used little to no ballest in the first place. Any suggestions. This is code 55 track so a caulk adhesive is out here.
Why would caulk adhesive be out? I’m using it on Micro Engineering code 50 for my spurs, and it works great. The trick is to add a thin bead down the centerline of the track, and then to smear a THIN layer where you want track, using a spatula or trowel. You don’t need a lot of caulk to hold down track. Once the THIN layer of caulk is down, lay the track and adjust. Once you’ve got it where you want it, hold the track in place with push pins. Once the caulk has set up (and hour or three), remove the pins.
I’ve used all sorts of adhesives to bond track to foam. Caulk is my all-time favorite, but white and wood glues work well also (and any other sort of foam-safe glues, like Aleens and Gorilla Glue). Foam-safe rubber cement will work, but gets expensive. Liquid nails will work, but takes the same sort of care as caulk to use, is more expensive than caulk, and doesn’t provide a sound-deadening quality. Stay FAR away from spray mount adhesive (it’s a bad, bubbly, temporary bond only).
you have to use something that will not attack the foam. i use latex liquid nails to glue the foam sheets together. i’m going to use the same stuff to hold my track in place until i get it ballasted on my layout. squeeze out a 1/4" bead down the track centerline and spread it out with a scrap piece of styrene then lay the track. weigh the track down with unopened soda cans or cans of vegetables until the liquid nails sets up. don’t let the stuff ooze up between the ties so you won’t have trouble with the ballast. gorilla glue is a polyurethane glue which needs water to cure. it will then foam up and fill all the tie spaces with the foam.
What kind of caulk do you use? Will silicone stick to the plastic ties?
I am using both HO cork for mainline and N cork for sidings and right down on the foam deck for industrial and yard tracks. I use a thin smeared dab of clear 100% silicone adhesive, (not the calk) about every 3 inches for both roadbed and track. It works great and if later changes are needed it separartes with a thin putty knife blade…
Basically any caulk will work. I prefer using Ace brand clear silicone caulk adhesive, since it’s cheap, readily available, dries perfectly clear, and sticks well. The stuff gives you about 1/2 hour of working time before it really starts to set up, and yes, it does stick to the ties! (and your fingers, but it rolls off once dry)
I lay my track right on the foam, be it blue or pink doesn’t matter. All of the products work that have been described so far. I have also used super glue and white/yellow glue, pinned down with T pins until dry and secure.
Any of the “Nails” products will work as will the silicone applications of “caulk” materials. Along with the foam construction, there are tons of new adhesives out there… the olden days of screen wire and plaster on furniture quality benchwork is out the window.
I’ve had a lot of success with glazing tape…available in hardware stores, lumberyards, glaziers, etc. It’s about 1/2 " wide (use 2 widths for HOn3 or N), flexes easily around the centreline you’ll have drawn, and can be pulled off (it does stretch, so be careful), and best of all - don’t tell anyone - it’s cheaper than that brand roadbed. Available in black or grey, you can press a modicum of ballast into it and leave it, or if you want it to last (mine’s been down 4 years now) use the old glued-ballast approach. Cheers.
Informative Thread!
Guys, my upcoming layout will be on Blue Foam, so I can use all the info I can get. Orsonroy mentions Sound Deadening. Which adhesives do you recommend that have the sound deadening quality?
Thanks!
I use Elmer’s white glue. It works fine and you can pull up track pretty easily if you need to. “T” pins with little tabs of foam hold the track down while it dries. You can also use books or canned goods.
The white glue does not have any sound deadening properties I think.
I use liquid nails for styrofoam. On my N scale layout I use it for securing cork roadbed to pink styrofoam and the track to the cork. I put a bead down and spread it thin and then align the track and put some temp nails in it to hold. works good so far. the only thing i do not like is that the package of liquid nails says not for use to glue styrofoam to styrofoam which sucks