I have built several layouts in the past with Homasote, or sound board as a sub roadbed on a plywood base. I recently decided to try the pink foam. I like the ease and weight of working with it. I did not remove the thin plastic sheet that is attached to the form before gluing down my WS roadbed. Is this going to be a problem down the road? Will that plastic film eventually seperate from the foam itself? I will be removing the plastic film from now on.
Paul
I know several people on here have complained and ran into problems for NOT removing the film.
So, YES, it could cause you problems down the road.
One wouldn’t think so, if the film and underlying foam isn’t disturbed.
BUt from those individuals who had problems, I guess it IS.
My foam came without any film on it at all.
Good luck!
[8-|]
I think it potentially could pull up, but so as to not have to tear everythign out and redo it, my thought is to score along it some distance from the edge of the roadbed so that you can remove the film over the rest of the area. Then when ballast and ground cover is applied up to the track ara, this sill somewhat seal the edge of the film to the rest of the foam. If you don;t actively go aroudn trying to lift the track up, it shoudl stay in place with the ballast and ground cover and glue to lock it in place.
Like G, I’ve been using pink foam for years now, never had any that came with a plastic film on it. It always seemed that stores that stocked the blue kind (Dow, vs Owens-Corning for pink) had stuff with film on it, although both companies, and some others, make full lines of product similar to each other other than the color (Dow has trademarked blue, O-C pink - hence the Pink Panther ads - so other brands almost certainly have to be some other color - my local Lowes has green), so the fact that tehre is a pink product with the film is not unthinkable. I believe the film is supposed ot be a moisture barrier - one fo the uses of extruded foam is on the OUTSIDE of a foundation before it is backfilled. The weight of all that dirt doesn’t compress it - so the idea that this stuff isn’t strong enough for model trains is just silly.
–Randy
Randy, I started to cut away the exposed film per your suggestion. Once the exposed foam is painted and track is ballasted, it should be fine.[:-^] I hope.
Paul
I have only seen the film on foam under 1" thick. Yes, you do want to peel it off. It is just a protective layer, which peels off very easily. It will keep your adhesive from getting to the foam to hold it in place.
Most folks use the thicker pieces of foam to get more below track scenery possibilities. 2" is strong enough to be used over a basic frame without sagging.
Good luck,
Richard
Paul, as much as it could be a real pain, You could perforate the film where the track is already laid/ glued. This way when you ballast and glue, you will gain a bit of added “tooth” the help stop any possible delamination of the film. Punching holes between the ties w/ an awl, nail or ? should help. A small pounce wheel may help it go a bit faster.
I did the same thing, i ended up removing the foam, removing the plastic and re-gluing it to the plywood because most glues will not stick and my risers started to shift. remove the plastic cover.
My past experience says to pull up the track now and remove the film while it’s still not that big a deal (compared to months or years from now when it all comes loose and the layout is at a more finished stage).