Hello Everyone!
I would like to use some sheet stryne to model roads on my layout. If you have done this method, how did you secure the plastic to the wood? Most of my layout is plywood, but some of it is MDF. I was thinking about a DAP clear silicone adheasive, but I didn’t know if it would be too thick.
Thank you,
Kurt
The LION uses silicone caulk for everything. Him would not use styrene for roads (not enough texture) but to attach it. You bet! I have had success attaching photos to walls and such. I used it to hold some computer ribbon wire in place as a platform wall. A caution with silicone is that paint will not adhere to anything that gets in the wrong place. I used that to my advantage to simulate the peeling paint endemic at that station.
A thin application of Liquid Nails ought to do it. It worked for me.
I would use either Alene’s Tacky Glue or Weldbond. Both are acrylic based white glues that won’t react with plastic. They’re also both readily available and inexpensive. They clean up with water, so you don’t have to worry about any accidental smears. They look like Elmer’s glue, but they stay flexible after drying and hold well to most surfaces. And, they’re thin enough, unlike caulking, to spread out well and give you a nice flat road.
Jim
And they’re paintable.
I have been using DAP clear tub and tile caulking for over a year now, or an equivalent brand. I am more than happy with it. [<:o)]
I tried the tubes that use the caulking guns and hated it.[8o|]
A thin even layer spread out with my fingers on the styrene works very well to hold it down. These tubes need no caulking gun, have a cap that seals the tube and will not go hard in the tube after a prolonged inactive use.[tup]
I use DAP clear caulk. I put down a small bead and spread it paper thin with a plastic putty knife.
It IS paintable if you read the tubes and get the paintable kind.
The little tooth paste tube of caulk cost as much as a full size tube of the caulk gun size.
I recently used Styrene to model a concrete road, I painted it grey with acrylics, and I plan to lightly score it with an X acto knife to represent joints in the concrete. I’m very happy with the results so far.
For ashphalt roads I used woodland scenics smooth it. as for glue, I used regular PVA glue.
LION uses the silicone from caulking guns. Him has gotten pretty handy at using it. Him especially likes it to mount switch motors. No nail, no screws, no templates, a blob of glue and mount the motor. Sometimes it is necessary to prop it up on something until the glue sets, but usually not.
LION does not bother with the cap for a silicone gun. Just pull the trigger so about a quarter inch of caulk sticks out. It will form the perfect cap, and when you want to use the caulk again, just pull the “cap” out and toss it away.
I prefer solvent-based contact cement for affixing styrene to plywood. Use a suitably-sized brush to apply a coat of lacquer thinner to the bottom side of the styrene (this prevents the contact cement’s solvents from being drawn into the styrene, resulting in a weak bond), then brush the contact cement onto the plywood and then onto the “prepped” styrene. Wait 10 or 15 minutes (read the instructions on the can), align the styrene where it needs to be, then press into place.
Wayne
As a quick aside, please take into consideration that your constant use of the third person makes your comments difficult to read, especially for non-native English speakers.
Thanks.
Silicone caulk, as I recall, has a strong odor of ammonia. It’s an irritant to the eyes, particularly, and some are more sensitive to it than others. So, make sure you have good ventilation while you are applying it and while it’s curing.
If you want to use caulk, I would recommend the latex stuff. As mentioned earlier, you can paint it, unlike silicome, and it doesn’t smell when drying.
I have a pink foam base to my layout, and I usually use white glue when putting down styrene. It holds well enough for this kind of low-stress application, but it can be pried up easily enough if you feel a need to move it.
I’ve used sanded grout, foam adhesive caulk and carpenters glue. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/O_Brien_-_Lumber_Yard_Worn_Asphalt.jpg
I’m in the process of adding styrene roads to our layout. The roads used to be AMI instant roadbed, but that was just took thick.
Now I’m using thin 0.010 styrene sheets for the roads. To secure them to our plywood base, I’m using Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue. Thin, dries clear, and I believe it will enable my roads to be removable if I ever need to move things around.
Here are some of the styrene roads I’ve installed:
All these roads and parking lots done in styrene
Would the various glue down techniques work if the strip of styrene is crowned by using a thin strip down the center? (Think Walther’s road system).
I’m not familiar with the Walthers road system, but the street shown below was done with .060" sheet styrene for the road surface and sidewalks. The strip beneath the centre of the road which imparts the crown is also of the same material.
The sub-surface here is 3/4" plywood, and I used contact cement to affix the strip and pavement edges to it, with lacquer thinner used as a solvent-type cement between the strip and underside of the road and to attach the sidewalks. I’ve also found that “prepping” styrene with a coat of lacquer thinner produces a much better bond than contact cement alone: first paint the styrene with thinner, then apply the contact cement to the plywood, then to the styrene. It appears that without this prepping, too much thinner is drawn out of the contact cement by the styrene, resulting in a less-than-ideal bond between it and the contact cement.
Here’s an older photo for which I searched after reading your question:
…and another taken just now, which better shows the construction of road:
Wayne
I used foam core and it sat up too high - so I am taking it out in favor of styrene attached with Eileen’s Tacky Glue.
