Anyone ever try mounting sectional track to a temporary layout board with “fugitive glue” or “credit card glue”? It’s the glue that is used to affix the mailing labels to the front of your copy of Model Railroader each month - also to affix credit cards to mailers. It peels off leaving both surfaces un-scathed (well, in theory, sometimes my copy of MR is a little worse for wear after peeling the label off). Anyway, just wondering if anyone had tried this special glue (guess it’s available as hot glue sticks or “dots” as well as a liquid and where a good place to find it locally might be. Also, if anyone else has other suggestions for temporarily affixing Atlas Code 55 True Track to a hollow-core door covered with primer (so plastic to paint), that’d be dandy. I’d like something that cleans off easily if I disassemble the track, but I’d also like it to be able to hold the track in place indefinitely if I hang the board on a wall or something to get it out of the way.
Considering your situation, I think you would be better off with track nails. And, I would put the track on cork roadbed as well.
The gooey stuff that you refer to as fugitive glue is, to my way of thinking, too thick and lumpy to use for what sounds like a VERY temporary need to affix track to a surface. At first I wondered if the 3M brand of restickable glue stick might work for your purpose – it makes any piece of paper into a Post-It note, for all practical purposes and can be found at office supply stores
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/550665/Scotch-Restickable-Glue-Stick-020-Oz/
But I would be surprised if it has the structural strength to actually hold the track in place. It might be worth a try but I have my doubts particularly since the wood door surface is not glass-smooth.
What I might advise instead is adhesive caulk but instead of applying a solid and continuous sheet of the caulk (it comes out in a bead when you use a caulk gun and then for normal permanent track laying I smooth it out intoa track-wide sheet with a “Your Name Here” fake plastic credit card that comes in the junk mail) I would just “dapple” here and there on a tie or two per piece of sectional track, or perhaps one tie at each end and one tie right in the middle.
That way it is strong enough to really hold the track in place, but you could easily put a knife or spatula blade underneath the track and lift it up for re-use later.
That step has to be done with care and I imagine you’d need to remove some gunk from those particular ties and perhaps off the door as well. But it should come up more easily off the wood door surface than, say, white glue would. And it comes up with a spatula or finger nail so in that sense is sort of like that fugitive glue you refer to.
I use a small seam wallpaper roller by the way to get the track to really snuggle down into the caulk.
Dave Nelson
Hi Mark,
Me, I’d put a dab of water based PVA at joints, not a great lump just enough to grip the ties Ye, I know it can be messy, but give yourself plenty of time time. Try your trackplan and make sure it runs ok then tape your track down in place as you go, get me? Once you are sorted lift a taped peice at a time and put a small dab of PVA under the track, no ware near points (switches) press track and tape back down and leave to set, overnight if you can then peel off the tape and clean the track.
Did it on temp. fiddleyard, which I lifted a good 15mths later by putting bits of wet Kitchen Towel on track to soften the glue. Had to buy the boss another roll, she wasn’t happy. Try it on a couple of lengths see how it works.
Be in touch.
pick.
And better-known for many years as…rubber cement.
Tom
Hmm.
I have noticed with that glue that it is NOT flat…it is rather thick. and doesn’t seem to lie flat and thin, so it would make for lumpy trackwork. When I have peeled it off and “played with it” it doesn’t seem to get much thinner than it was laid out. Now I don’t know if the “raw stuff” comes out that thick or not.
Second, you seem to have a problem. The problem is the paint on the door. No matter what you use for glue, the glue is only going to hold your track to the paint, NOT the door, where it should.
Therefore, I vote for track nails ALSO. You can spike the door with them and they should hold until you want to pry them up hanging the door up or laying flat.
The other thing you can try is latex caulk, a favorite among those of us who use extruded foam for a base. There again, it will only hold the track to the paint ON the door…BUT it is easy to slide a cake frosting knife under and pry up {it is angled handle to a flat surface} and scrapes off easy.
Good luck what ever you do.
[8-|]
Even for temparary trackwork I feel that you should be using cork. This could be stapled enough to place the track and nail in place. This would be easily removed by a putty knife.
I made a bit of an error in describing the track. It’s code 65 True Track. Here’s an example: http://download.atlasrr.com/Images/Track/NTruetrack/12.5Radius_TQ.jpg On the bottom there are two places where I could drill through for track nails probably… but I was hoping to leave the track unmolested - that’s why I am looking for a glue that will be easy to clean off. 
A few people suggested cork and since it already has roadbed I’d rather not mess around with another layer. I think I’m going to see what kinds of glue along these lines is available and just give it a shot.
Mark, thanks for the clarification. To make your link “live”
http://download.atlasrr.com/Images/Track/NTruetrack/12.5Radius_TQ.jpg
I think small dabs of latex adhesive caulk at both ends, applied lightly to the bottom edge for just a half inch or so, should work perfectly. I have given a clinic on tracklaying with adhesive caulk and just to show the audience that it could be done, used the caulk to affix a similar but cheaper LifeLike track section to a piece of plywood. It holds it in place and is easily undone with a spatula. No nails needed. There are severeal brands at the hardware store – but I advise latex caulk without silicone, which has a slippery feel. The kind I use comes out white and dries clear - somewhat shiny. it also comes in gray and perhaps other shades.
Dave Nelson
FWIW I use a similar type of track (Kato Unitrack) and while working out different track ideas, I never found the need to fasten the track down. If you want to fasten the track down semi-permanently (so you can store the layout on it’s side) I’d go with nails rather than glue. Not sure about the Atlas track, but Kato track has starter holes that you can drill thru to open them up for track nails.
Then the fugitive glue is not very likely to be a reliable choice.
If this is only to have a short temp hold, try setting the track w/ dabs of hot glue. No need to worry about sealing the door and it will pop apart w/ a putty knife. For a more permanent arrangement the door should be painted/ sealed and bond w/ caulk, Pliobond or Liquid Nail. Sealing the porous door surface will also help when come time to ballast and scenic as you won’t chance messing up the luan or hardboard of the hollow door.