Wandering around at Walmart in the Home Improvement aisles today, I found the Liquid Nails adhesives. I noticed that, aside from the tube and caulk gun style, Liquid Nails has available a small tube of repair adhesive for less than $3. As I am building a shelf layout and don’t need a lot of adhesive plus a caulk gun at this time, I was tempted to pick it up and use it to lay down cork roadbed on blue foam. I hesitated to do so because I am a frugal person and don’t have money to throw away on something that isn’t proven to work and do what I need it to do.
My question is this: Has anyone used this or a similar product in such a small amount with success? If that is the case, then this would be highly convenient for someone who is just working on a small industrial layout and doesn’t need a lot of caulk.
Any other thoughts or product suggestions are welcome.
You can buy a whole tube of DAP Alex Plus Acrylic Latex caulk at Home Depot or Lowe’s for $2. You will need a caulk gun but they are fairly inexpensive anyhow.
I like and prefer the DAP Acrylic Latex caulk because it:
dries quickly
holds very well
is inexpensive
doesn’t have the nasty chemicals to Liquid Nails does
has very little odor
can be pried apart
I use it for bonding:
track to cork
cork to cork
cork to foam board
foam board to foam board
foam board to plastic
Great stuff and holds well. AND…should you decide or need to make a modification, a wide putty knife and gentle prying will separate the pieces.
Prying from foam is a little trickier as the foam will sometimes break away slightly. However, damage to the foam is very minimal. As a rule, a thin layer of the latex caulk is all you need for a good bond.
FWIW, that would be my recommendation rather than the Liquid Nails…
I have to agree with tstage. Liquid Nails is a strong adhesive. It will not allow you to redo anything without pretty much destroying your previous work. The DAP alternative is effective but much more forgiving. And, try getting Liquid Nails off your fingers or any place else you didn’t want it! [8o|]
You can also buy DAP in smaller tubes which don’t require a caulking gun.
Another thumb up for DAP Alex Plus. I have used it so far this month to put down strips of corked foam underlay with a plastic sheet base manufactured to its bottom side, and when that cured, I used the same stuff to adhere lengths of flex track. Three weeks later, it is still firmly stuck. The tubes are much less costly than Liquid Nails for Projects.
Look at the price of the small tube. Then look at the price of the caulk gun size tube. The answer should be self evident. After using the large caulk just seal the open end by sticking a nail in the opening. You will be surprised how long the open tube will last.
I use Liquid Nails and a pneumatic nailer for wood to wood benchwork, and caulk for everything else.
I have been very happy with inexpensive latex cauld for about 8 years. Doesn’t have to be DAP, just whatever is the least expensive. I have avoided the ones with silicone, as I have seen posts saying that they do not hold paint well, so I can use it were it might get painted. Never have checked the problem out.
One thing with Liquid Nails, if you decide to go that way, is to be sure it is foam compatible. There is Liquid Nails for Projects, BUT some of it is foam compatible some is not. Make sure you double check (ask me how I know),
I agree with Dave, a caulking gun is cheap (if you had to buy a second small tube to finish the job, you would have paid for the gun) and if you seal the end, it will last a long time. If you are going to leave it for quite awhile, in addition to a nail or drywall screw in the tip (use one long enough to go down into the tube, not just in the nozzle) I wrap the end in Saran Wrap and put a rubber band around it. Had a tube last nearly 5 years that way.
You cna also get those small tubes of regular caulk as well, but a caulk gun is only a couple of bucks and the little self-squeeze tube costs as much as the big tube. If you have leftover, caulk a few windows and doors with the leftover, and get a bonus rather than pay too much for the little tubes.
Ii just bought Liquid nails for Projects [foam compatible] for <$2 at Walmart. I’m using it for my N scale roadbed, track, and foam mountain structures; works great!