i’m rearranging some trackwork and need to remove rail, ties and the brown roadbed I (yellow wood) glued to the white foam based.
I can only imagine what a messh it would be to try to scrap the roadbed off the foam. Could try using a hot wire. any suggestions? thanks
Possibly. The arms that support the wire tend to be in the way. Once you got it started it might be able to skim under the gule
Look up Japanese razor saws on Amazon. The tend not to have the ridge at the back of the blade that US razor saws have.
There are also handles that will hold a hack saw blade and there are dry wall saws.
If the yellow wood glue is water soluable, try applying water to the area. Once the area is saturated, the items should begin to separate and pull apart.
Terry
I have had good results removing glued down items/scenery by spraying the glue joint with 70% alcohol. Let it soak in for a few minutes and it usually softens the glue to the point that you can simply lift off whatever you want to remove without damage. Spray on a little more alcohol and you can wipe the item clean.
the roadbed is about an inch wide. only the edge at the bottom is exposed. Seems the only way to get to the glue is thru the road bed
are you guys suggesting soaking the roadbed?
Just apply and let the alcohol soak in along the edges of the track. It should wick in under the track and roadbed just fine.
If you have good access to the surface, try a vibrating/oscillating saw. They have a flat bottom with an edge that vibrates at very high speed. You should be able to slide the blade under the roadbed and cut them apart. I have one and I find a million uses for it. I use them to make a plunge cut into materials. In fact, that is another option. Go along the edge of the roadbed and make a plunge cut into the foam then remove the cut section like a cookie cutter…roadbed and foam still glued together. Obviously this would leave a open space in your foam but you could glue new foam back into that gap. To get a good fit, cut the replacement piece of foam first then use it as a template to mark the cut lines on the layout foam. Once you cut along the lines you marked, the replacement piece should fit right in.
using a wide razor saw worked. initially thought i could cut threw each side but the then the entire saw fit underneath. It was a thin coating of glue. cut threw the roadbed and was able to lift out a hand laid turnout; possible use somewhere else.
thanks
while i’m very satisfied that there was minimal damage to the foam, there are still holes that I think need to be filled before gluing new roadbed down. I believe the roadbed needs to be supported in order to sand it flat before adding ties (which also need sanding).
was thinking of making a liquidy batch of plaster of paris and pouring in holes, assuming it will be self-leveling.
Ken Patterson uses that spray insullation foam. “Great Stuff” It expands massively. Think 10 X.
If you get a big mushroom coming out of a hole (assuming these are small holes) you can cut it with a razor saw. If we are talking big holes, it means cutting and sanding.
Sanding foam is messy.
my attempt to use very thin plaster of paris didn’t work out. Partly because the plaster was old and partly because I didn’t make it thin enough. was able to just vacuum it up after a day or so.
used Red Devil, Lighten Up spackle. While it’s very dry, it smoothed out nicely. I needed thin layers because no much of the foam was pulled up. It wasn’t too hard or brittle for push pin to hold the roadbed material in place (maybe it wasn’t fully set).
i’m very satisfied with the way things turned out
I found on my last layout I had to remove track and s reasons - water in the basement, changing configuration etc.
This is why I recommend using Atlas track nails or ME spikes on OSB/plywood/Homasote instead of gluing cork or track down. It’s so easy to just pull up the nails or spike with a pair of needle nose plyers and relay again same method.
Food for thought anyway.