I am using 1 inch foam on top of plywood table. Foam has clear film on entire surface. Is it best to remove this before adding track, scenery etc.? This is first layout for me. Thanks.
I just laid some 1/2 inch foam over 1/2 inch plywood, and thought it best to remove the film before I did anything. It had bubbles in it, and I would think that the foam would adhere to any surface better without the film. Another thought was that the film may seperate from the foam over time, and I could only imagine what kind of mess that may cause.
Welcome to the forum. Good place to ask questions.
Come to think of it, I did remove mine.
One word of advise. Go to your paint store and get a can of cheap brown latex paint (hopefully bargain basement) and and cover the color as soon as possible. It’s better for your head than pink or blue. Be sure it is light enough that you can see any pencil marks you might want for your trackwork.
I remove the film from both sides of the foam before doing anything to the foam. It cuts better without the film, and the raw foam will provide more adhesive grip than a plastic film. If you have a Home Depot nearby, you could get lucky and find a gallon of earth-tone paint that was mixed incorrectly. My HD sells it as “Oops” paint for $5.00 per gallon. I use a Sharpie to layout my track lines and reference lines and it will show through the paint.
Don Z.
The film will definately separate over time.
underworld[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
I did exactly this and it worked out great
What brands of extruded foam have this clear film on their surface??? The 2" thick blue foam (Dow?) that I’ve found at my local Lowes doesn’t appear to have this film on its surface. I have seen foam insulating boards at Lowes and HD that have a surface coating on them that looks like aluminum foil. I’m considering using the blue foam as a bench top on a new layout and I don’t want to have to worry about stripping off surface films.
Bob
I know exactly what you are talking about, Im pretty certain it is DOW and runs around $22 a 4 by 8 sheet. I am planning to buy a sheet of it to create little diarama’s on. This product seems to be the best choice because it doesnt have any film and 2" is pretty thick and can allow for some terrain mods.
-beegle55
My local Lowes also sells the Dow blue foam in 2" thick 2’ x 8’ sheets which, if you can get them, may be a more appropriate size for dioramas since cutting might be minimized.
Bob
I wish I’d known the film would come up a week ago. I just removed it from the top side of my base and redid the lines and little bit of cork I’d laid down. The bottom is already glued down to the plywood but I think it’ll be ok. In localized stress, it seems like it’s fairly easy to pull up, but over the whole base, I think I’ll be ok. I hope 
And Bob, it’s not hard to remove the film, it peels away rather easily in one whole sheet. Don’t fret over it.
For those who are interested, I just got off the phone with a Dow Styrofoam Insulation tech rep. concerning the nature of the thin plastic film found on some of their extruded blue foam insulation boards. There is indeed a thin plastic film on some of their thinner, i.e., 3/4" and 1" thick foam sheets. This film is applied to these sheets to protect the surface from damage and is applied to the sheets composed of lower density foam. The thicker sheets, eg., 2" thick, do not have this protective film applied to them because they are composed of denser foam and thus are less susceptible to surface damage. I checked out the Dow blue foam sheets at my local Lowes today and found both 3/4" and 1" thick sheets with the plastic film. Both were designated as sheathing insulation and the 3/4" sheets had tongue and groove edges. They also stock 1" thick 4’ x 8’ sheets without the surface film for $15.72. They have 2" thick 2’ x 8’ and 4’ x 8’ sheets without the surface film for $15.46 and $30.64, respectively. The 4’ x 8’ sheet is scored at 24" and at 16" so by snapping the sheet lengthwise along these score lines you can create 16" and 24" x 8’ sections presumably to fit as insulation between wall studs. The sheets with score lines are referred to by Dow as “Score Board”. According to the Dow Styrofoam website they also make 4’ x 8’ sheets without the score lines.
Hope this isn’t overkill,
Bob
To beegle55:
Where in West Virginia can you get 2" thick 4’ x8’ sheets of Dow blue Styrofoam insulation board for $22/sheet? I’m going to need a number of sheets for my new layout and I’d like to save $8.00/sheet vs. the $30.64/sheet price at the Lowes in Martinsburg, WV.
Bob
I use both 3/4" and 1" blue foam that has no film. The only foam I have seen with film is the tan low-density type that is not suitable for railroad use – it will disintegrate over time if exposed. The film is there to protect it. There may be blue/pink foam with film surfaces that is suitable, but it is not carried locally by HD or lumber yards.
At the risk of sounding like a heretic, the high price is but one of the reasons I choose to use 3/4 plywood instead of 2" foam as a base. The only value I find in the foam is that it is lighter than wood, but it has a lot of other drawbacks.
Joe Daddy