I added a curved Chooch HO stone flexwall that I added along the 3-4’ edge of a 5/8" plywood grade, beyond an engine service area. The flexwall length required several sections. The product has a glue on the peel & stick backing.
After awhile the wall edge started coming away from the side of the 5/8" plywood side where attached, creating a gap. Unfortunately I tried a series of glues squeezed into gap, including contact cement, superglue gel, Gorilla glue, epoxy, etc. Well, that didn’t work in some areas and left me with a mess in three segments with a gap where nothing could work (except a staple gun) due to the varieties of glue there.
Today I went about it again, using q-tips and lacquer thinner and (alternating) acetone to remove most of the mess in the gaps areas. It was easier to create a clean surface on the back of the (vinyl?) flexwall material than the plywood. Eventually I got to where I was exposing real wood and roughed it up with sandpaper. Then, I had to choose a glue and tried superglue gel, which seems to be working on the cleaned plywood and product backing.
Of course, if doing again I’m not sure what I’d do, as the peel and stick backing seemed inadequate but I’m not so sure superglue (or any type) added to the joint would work well with the original glue still there. Don’t know if sanding the plywood edge smoother would have helped, mild heat, etc???
I do like the product, particularly after painting it over to better match the stonework on bridge piers and abutments on the layout.
First of all, I have to say that I am surprised that these “stone” walls did not hold for you. I used a fair number of these on my double bascule bridge lift out section, and none came loose.
However, on another project, I did try to re-use some stone wall strips, and I did have a problem with corners and edges coming loose.
I talked to Chooch about this and they indicated that glues and contact cements would not work since they conflict with the factory installed adhesive.
What I finally did was to use a pin vise to drill pilot holes, then tap in Atlas track nails. That did it, and you really cannot see the nail heads.
If you peel off the backer paper, you will find that the Chooch walls adhere best to smooth, sealed and dust free surfaces. The adhesive is very strong and will give a permanent hold. Where I have used the Chooch walls to cover a somewhat irregular surface-to make a better lake side retaining wall than the previously installed cliff- I coated the backer paper with a high tack,flexible white glue from Crafter’s Pick called Ultimate Tacky. I used track spikes to pin the walls to the former cliff face and left them in for a couple of days. The Chooch walls have enough resilience that the spike holes closed up on them selves when I pulled out the spikes.
I have had to resort to the Contact Cement as most of the time the surface I want to attach the Chooch Wall to is a wood surface which is rough!
I will just use some along the edges (as this seems to be the only areas that come loose) and then clamp or put a board up against the wall until the Contact Cement dries!
I have found that one doesn’t have to do it according to the MFG instructions to get the stuff to hold tight!
Yes, trying to stick to a rough plywood edge is marginal at best. Best thing would be either to sand it smooth or apply something over it to get a smooth surface.
Depending upon the surface in question, if it is feasible, you might first cover the plywood with a very thin sheet of bass wood and then apply the Chooch Flexible Stone Wall onto the bass wood which is a much smoother surface. That is how I applied on my double bascule bridge lift out section.
Yep, that’s agood idea with the wood. Another option would be some of that thin aircraft plywood (1/32?, 1/64?) as it’s even more flexible.
I was actually thinking of something like gap-filling gel CA. It would soak into the wood and get good adhesion on that side, plus would be smooth on the outside for the wall to stick to. It might take two coats to get a nice smooth surface.
The thick CA would also work well for adhering the wood strip option also. Combining the two methods would be a great way to deal with an irregular plywood edge, as it would provide a means to smooth out especially bad places.
I’ve had similar issues w/ Cripplebush “rubber” rock castings. Eventually I found that hot glue worked out the best. Contact cement, Pliobond. liqiud nails and even tile mastic worked, but either was too time consuming, areas came loose and some seams opened. The substrate seemed to be the greatest problem, I feel that wood or plaster would need to be sealed to stop the glue absorbtion. This is also the reason that the Formica in question will delaminate. The base needs to be coated w/ contact cement and allowed to dry then recoat both surfaces for the greatest lasting hold. I feel the same applies here.
The hot glue most likely worked for me as the area was quite large and rather “irregular” w/ slivers/ chuncks of foam placed (hot glued) to bond/ conform the flexible castings to the base.
The walls in question and the self adhesive backing appears to need a relatively smooth “non porous” base. I still would wonder and not trust a bond like this over long periods of the glue eventually drying out.
Hot glue is what I used on my Cripplebush rubber rocks, too. Mine are installed on liftouts, so get moved from time to tgime. I’ve had no issues with them coming loose in the 7 or 8 years since installation.
Hot glue should work with the OP’s Chooch flex walls. With everything else pumped in there, it was probably dicey to try to just add the hot glue and get good results. But taking things apart and cleaning them up before the hot glue would definitely work.
What makes you so sure…I have not used it? That I can not intelligently comment.
If you look real close at the OP’s pic’s, it does not look like he has it on a all flat surface, like yours is, so really any adhesive you use will take some re-thinking.
Take Care!
Frank
BTW: I should mention that Bogp40 has the most viable solution. Very true, working with non-porous to porous materials, like in the case of Formica to MDS/MDF or plywood.
Boy, you guys really stay up late, get up crazy early, or live in the Azores!
What we do know is that using a rough, curved edge from a sable saw with the peel & stick backing glue does not usually work 100% and not with superglue, white glue, contact cement, hot glue, gorilla glue, epoxy and some I forgot all added together. If doing again, I think I would first sand somewhat and add plwood edge veneer with wood glue, then try a test piece of wall with contact cement and one with hot glue and after drying give them each a test pull. If inadequate, I’d likely use a solvent to remove most glue from the peel and stick attachment area, then test again. And maybe do the nails during the drying stage and remove or just paint over them.
If that didn’t work, I’d remove the peel and stick glue and glue a flexible metal strip to the wall material and another piece to the plywood edge. Then I’d hire a welder to attach the two! I’d open a window for the welding fumes.
Seriously, the comments have been enlightening for next time or similar events. Hope this all is helpful to others.
I was recommending the superglue/CA to provide a non-porous and smoother surface on the wood side of the joint. Yes, it will require something else to adhere to the Chooch walls. A contact cement should work at that point, but I can see you being leery of it now.
I’m actually leaning towards the hot glue if you have everything cleaned up. In that case, so long as things are cleaned and solid, it should work. You might try Goo-gone to take the adhesive off the Chooch walls to prep them.
I recall from my conversation with Chooch that because of the adhesive used on the Flexible Stone Walls, contact cement would not hold well. I am sticking with my recommendation of using track nails preceded by pilot holes drilled with a pin vise. Been there, done that, it works, and you can easily hide the nail headswith modeling putty or hobby crayon.
&nb
