I’ve started laying cork roadbed on the new pike. I used to use Liquid Nails as an adhesive but, heeding the advice of several forum members here, switched to the caulk this time. This stuff is GREAT! It spreads easily, grips well right away, yet remains workable. I just use a few track nails to hold it in place at some critical locations and move on. What’s especially remarkable is I’m using recycled roadbed salvaged from the old layout - it’s been in storage for about four years and has dried out a bit and is less flexible than I’d prefer (the Model Power roadbed seems to have held up much better than the Midwest in this regard) but the caulk still holds it just fine. A tube of that stuff is the best two bucks I’ve spent on the hobby in a long time. Once again the sagacious insights shared on this forum have come to the rescue of a fellow modeler.
I “discovered” the stuff a few years ago due to some of the members here and there is nothing you could do to convince me to go back. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?
And thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum and to the vast knowledge shared here. I’ve learned more from all of you in just a few years then I could ever have learned in a lifetime on my own. Thanks!
I can second pcarrel’s comments and thank all you guys who put me on to the stuff.
yes it does work very well.im so use to using white glue. thats what i use for the cork and track.terry…
What brand names do you use?
[8D]
I use an “All Purpose Adhesive Caulk” (that is what the tube says) put out by OSI. DAP no longer makes their exact equivalent that had the same name (the brand recommended by Chuck Hitchcock in the August 2003 MR article on laying track) although they have some similar caulks, such as Alex Painter’s Caulk, but the OSI seems to meet all my needs. The OSI name is not easy to find on the package and I have usually seen it displayed near the DAP at hardware stores.
The things I look for are: good for all surfaces, spreads white but dries clear (it is easier to work with if it comes out white but you want it to dry clear not white or almond), and water clean up.
As I mentioned on a posting elsewhere, to spread the caulk I use all of those annoying “Your Name Here” fake plastic credit cards that come in the junk mail nearly every week. In fact I have found several purposes for them and never throw any of them out anymore.
While at the hardware store the other day I found a caulk that dries black … intriguing possibilities there.
By the way in that MR article Chuck Hitchcock also suggested using “topper tape” (from auto parts supply stores) for laying track – I gather it is a very strong double sided tape with a soft foam composition. Has anyone tried that method?
Dave Nelson
Has anyone tried rubber cement? Is there any downside to that?
Ditto on the caulk. I like the kind that goes on white and drys clear. Also, in my case, I’ve now learned that you can remove track/cork quite easily later if done with caulk.
Regards,
I think rubber cement is kind of messy to work with, and I’d worry about the bond lasting for a long time under stress, particularly when bonding to smooth surfaces. After all, you can usually pull rubber cement off just by rubbing it a bit. Also, I suspect that it’s not as available in the kind of quantities you would want for laying roadbed and track.
It is good for some applications. I use it to stick down uncoupler magnets, because in that situation it will hold indefinitely, but I can still remove the magnet if it turns out it needs to be re-positioned.