Getting glued cork off of baseboard?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi all

going through a major re-design of layout and need to remove the old trackbed any ideas welcome

Gav

2

How did you adhere it? Which glue?

David B

3

David

I used undiluted pva onto 6mm unsealed ply

Gav

4

Have you tried a really strong putty knife? You just slide it under the roadbed and seperate the two plys.

5

Yes I have and it ripped up some of the ply as well

Gav

6

If it is that attached then you probably dont have any chance of saving the roadbed. I just took up my old layouts roadbed and it was only stapled down and it still wasn’t salvagable.

7

Darn looks like i’ll have to sand it to the right height

thanks for the help

Gav

8

You MIGHT be able to get yourself a broad chisel and chisel it off but, most likely, this is where a belt sander with coarse sandpaper is going to come in handy.

One other thing comes to mind but I’m not sure how it will work. Some years back I purchased a couple of paint strippers; there is about a three inch/75mm hub and attached to this hub are some beater bars. You chuck this unit in a portable drill and when these beater bars flail outward you lower them onto the surface of the material you are trying to strip. They didn’t work for what I had purchased them for but they may be of use in beating glued cork off of plywood. I got these at what we call a “hardware store” on this side of the pond. Unfortunately you may still require the use of a belt sander to remove that final crust of glue from the ply.

Question: 1/4 inch/6.35mm ply is not very firm - I use 3/8 inch/9.53mm ply and space my gridwork about 18 inch/450mm apart. What kind of benchwork are you using under this six mil ply?

9

rtpoteet

looks like the sanders comming out

Gav

10

I am undergoing a major renovation of my dominoes (modular layout sections). I used yellow glue to attach cork roadbed to a plywood subroadbed.

I have sucessfuly removed the old cork by using a “painters tool” (looks like a weird putty knife) from Walmart ($3.95). The painters tool has a beveled edge. I use it like a chisel by tapping on the end with a hammer to get the old road bed up. I clean up the area with a surform tool and corse sand paper. It works great.

I am now in the process of gluing the new cork down for the the revised track configuration.

11

Any chance that you can take up the plywood, then flip it over and use the other side? That way, you’d need to remove the roadbed only where it interferes with the support framing, and you wouldn’t have to be too neat about it, either. [swg]

Wayne

12

rtpoteet

2x1 timber 3’x2’rectangle with crossbracer. As i only model ‘n’ it seems alright

doctorwayne

no chance on that all glued and screwed

Gav