Question

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1
  1. What can you use to secure foam board to plywood?

2)What can you use to secure Foam to foam?

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I use Elmers Carpenter’s glue.

3

Answer (to both):

Liquid Nails for Projects

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There is foam safe contact cement, Latex liquid nails for foamboard and some other adhesives that are safe for foam. They come in tubes that you insert into a calk gun. The contact cement comes in a paint can, They can be used for foam to wood or foam to foam. Right now i’m using PL300 foamboard adhesive because I havent been able to find Latex liquid nails anywhere.

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Answer:

  • I strongly suggest that you should have used your question as a title. “Question,” could be about, literally, anything. (No, I don’t know what color Hugh Hefner’s Tuesday pajamas are.)

  • I have been using latex caulk to fasten just about everything. Venue is a non-climate-controlled garage in the Dessicated Desert, and things seem to have no trouble staying where I put them.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

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For many of us, shopping a little carefully can save us some added-up dollars over time, maybe enough to buy a really nice kit. I found some of the adhesives to be expensive compared the the cheapest, on-sale, no exchanges, acrylic latex caulk I could find. The latex caulks give a bit, allowing for small changes in the structure of the layout due to temps and humidity. So, that is what I use, DAP or whatever is going for a buck or two a tube.

-Crandell

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I agree with Chuck that a more informative subject title would be helpful in the future.

Although Elmer’s glue works fine with foam, it dries hard. It also makes future repairs more involved. Cure time: 48 hours to 1 week.

Liquid Nails for Projects works well, too. However, it has some nasty chemicals in it and there are cheaper alternatives.

Why I prefer DAP Alex Plus Acrylic Latex Caulk:

  1. It’s fairly inexpensive (~$2 per tube) - Can be found at any home improvement store

  2. It’s multi-purpose - foam → foam, foam → cork, cork → cork, cork → track, cork → wood, wood → foam, foam → plastic, etc.

  3. Very little odor

  4. Starts curing in ~45 min. and is completely cured in 24 hours or <

  5. Holds very well

  6. Remains flexible

  7. For repairs: It can be pried up using a broad putty knife - most of the time without destroying the pieces bonded together

Here’s a web site to the product: http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=2

Hope that helps…

Tom

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I use the PL300 foamboard adhesive and/or the Liquid nails for projects.

Both work very well.

HeritageFleet1

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I used a limited amount of white glue along with some screws. 3 inch drywall screws through a fender washer every couple of feet. That way it can be removed in the future if needed. Place the screws where you know you won’t be carving away.

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That’s exactly what I do. I found that, over time, the foamboard and plywood are going to have a parting of the ways, so to speak. The best insurance for that, and easiest solution, was to carve out a little round dimple of foam, set it aside, use a long screw (as long as you need to get through the foam down to your wood), and I use an oversized washer along with the screw, drilled down in the center of the dimple. Then I shave the bottom of the section I cut out and glue it back into place over the screw. I’d recommend doing this in as many key, may give you trouble, spots as you like.

Just don’t ‘squeeze’ the foam down with the screw, there’s no need to do that, and you don’t want to mess up the nice levelness (is that a word?) of your foam.

As stated before, make sure to NOT do this where you’re going to be drilling, carving etc. later on.

Jarrell

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  1. Liquid Nails for projects 2) LNFP or Foam tack glue by woodland scenics.
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My vote is for cheap latex caulk. I used PL300 to glue my acres of foam to my open grid. The instructions were to press into place then lift off and let vent for a few minutes. Well there was no way, no how, that foam was coming back up to vent.[(-D] Good thing it was in the right place the first time.[:)] I use caulk for just about everything, from sticking down Caboose ground throws to sticking foam together. And the best thing is,it comes apart with a paint scraper.[tup]

Brent

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Cheap Chalk works for me.

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i use elmers glue for alot of glueing on my model railroad. got the tip from a modeler for over 26years. i bought all of is layout. the glue will not leave an odor and cleans up easyily with water.

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Liquid Nails is solvent based and is said to eat foamboard. Liquid Nails for Projects is said to be OK for foamboard, but it doesn’t say so on the container. I used a caulking gun tube of something called PLZ300 which said “safe for foamboard” right on the tube. I’d expect any tube of adhesive that says “safe for foamboard” to be fine. I would avoid any adhesive that did not say “safe for foamboard” on the package.

Or, latex caulking compound, also a caulking gun tube product, is water based and sticks very well to foamboard and a lot of other things besides.

Or, yellow carpenters glue is said to work. I think the latex caulking compound or the PLZ300 has better stick and dries faster so I don’t use the yellow glue, but people say it works.

Anything that sticks foamboard to plywood will also stick foamboard to foamboard, no sweat.

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My choice is a bit differnt based on using foam on travelling modules. I put a light coat of Gorilla Glue on the edges that come in contact with wood, spread very thin with a putty knife. I wet the wood just a bit, then place the foam into place (and if my cuts are right, its a good snug fit). The I take a spray bottle of water and spray into all the seams between the wood and foam. Clamp and/or weight it down until the glue sets. The Gorilla Glue expands and fill the cracks, make a very strong joint and I only need to trim what little bit oozes out.

Ricky

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The latex caulk is great. I usually don’t get the absolute cheapest because i use it all around the house/garage.