Hi guys.
The instructions call for the use of Barge cement for gluing rail to ties. I can not find any. I tried 4 different hardware stores and a Home Depot. I picked up a tube of Goop. Will this work? Has any one used it for hand laying track?
Thanks
Pete
i thought goop was a hand cleaner. never done it myself but i new a guy who put a spot of contact cement on the underside of the rail and let it set up. then when he positioned the rail on the ties, he held a hot soldering iron to the rail and after it cooled, it was stuck down good. don’t ask about the burned fingers.
grizlump
Grizlump
Goop is a contact cement. It claims to glue everything. I think I will give it a try on a short section of rail and see if it will do the trick.
Thanks
Pete
I found Barge cement at Ace Hardware in tube form, but I think CVT recommends the more liquidy kind. You can buy it online in quarts and gallons, just google Barge Cement.
Okay from asking a friend of a friend. (take that as you will) Apparently BARGE cement is Central Valley company glue. According to what I was told anything will work, but the barge glue is thinner since only a small amount is spread on the rail, the rest is activated by chemical reaction when the rail is placed in place. Anyhoo, i was told any contact cement will work, but you may need thicker applications, which might lead to bumpy rail or on a curve the rail springing away if the radii is too tight.
Sorry, but your friend of a friend is all wrong. Barge Cement is NOT a CVT company glue. What causes this ‘chemical reaction’ when the rail with the glue is placed on the tie strip? Magic?
Barge is a contact cement typically used on the shoe repair business. Try contacting a local show repair shop/cobbler and see if they sell it. It comes in tubes, quarts and gallons. CVT recommends apply some to both the rail and the tie strip, let dry and then press the two surfaces together. A little MEK will reactivate the cement if needed. As a contact cement to proper application is to apply some to each surface, allow to dry and then mate the two surfaces together.
Goop, whether the tube is labeled as Automotive, Household, Plumber’s, etc., is a silicon formula that will probably not work well for sticking rail to plastic ties because the solvent in it could dissolve or soften the plastic.
Read the label: Contains toluene and petroleum distillate. Vapor harmful. May cause dizziness, headache or nausea. Causes eye, skin, nose and throat irritation… and on and on.
Definitely not safe for use on plastic.
The Fast Tracks people recommend Pliobond contact cement for building their hand layed track. I’ve used it, and it works fine. There are many places you can probably find it, but you can also find it here and purchase a few handy applicator tips to keep the glue where you want it:
http://www.handlaidtrack.com/tools-supplies-c-9.php
Bob O.
Hi guys
I had nothing to lose so I experimented with the supposed Amazing Goop. I cut five 3/4 inch long piece of rail and five pieces of sprue from the CVT tie strip. I tried different scenarios with the five rail/ tie pieces and found that the goop does not stick to the nickle silver rail. Even painted rail. Bare styrene would craze a little but not melt.
Thats one adhesive we can take off the list for modeling.
Pete
barge cement available at Amazon.com +/- $3.50
use M.E.K. to thin the glue; I use 4 parts thinner 1 part glue, apply thinned glue to rail, let dry, lay rail on ties, use small brush to apply MEK to reactivate glue
Correct. Just follow those instructions. Any contact cement will work, but Barge thins down nicely with MEK. CA is not a good choice.
Yes, I agree. Although barge cement/ MEK is the prefered/ recommended cement, Pliobond will do the job. It is not readilly reactivated by MEK like the barge but does a good job. I like the flexable bond of the pliobond use it for attaching ME track to plastic.
With my Diamond Valley I’ve glued the rails to the CV strips with CA. I’ve used a brand UHU.This glue has a longer open time. And it should be flexible.
Wolfgang
Interesting. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a flexible CA? I tried the cheap CA and the joints were too brittle and cracked with expansion.
I bought some from a guy on ebay. Also supposedly Ace Hardware has it on their web site. I tried to buy it in their store one day though and they didn’t have it there and couldn’t find it in their computer, but did see it on the web site. So maybe that will help you.
John
Well, they write it on their web site.
And I participated with Diamond Valley since March 2009 at about 5 FREMO meetings. This means I carried it in my car, build it up, dismantled and carried it again to my home. There it’s stored under the layout.
No problems so far.
Wolfgang
Well guys that’s it. After searching every hardware store in a fifty mile radius and calling shoe repair /cobblers. There is no Barge cement or Pliobond. I could order online and pay $7 shipping for a $3 tube. Does that make sense? NO way!!!
I guess I will go to plan B and use the old tried and true 2 part epoxy. I have some rail that’s been repaired on my modules 5 or 6 years ago that are still holding up. With all the newer adhesives on the market we sometimes forget about the epoxies.
Pete
I bought a can of the stuff off ebay around the first of the year. Go to ebay, type “barge cement” in one of the search boxes and you’ll get a whole bunch of listings for it. I just checked myself, there’s 15 listings currently.
Do check out some vacuum cleaner dealers that do repairs. Pliobond is readily used for hose repairs. This stuff is extremely strong and flexable. An Electrolux dealer would be a good start as many of them will “rehose” your end fittings with the Pliobond.
Trust me. I understand your frustration in trying to buy this stuff, but you are talking about the foundation of your layout. I agree $11 for a $4 tube of glue sounds outrageous, but will it sound so bad in hind sight if your rails start coming up from some experimental glue in a year?? The guys at CV told me they have rail that’s been down with Barge for 20 years! This is NOT something to skimp on and experiment with.[2c]