More importantly, what is a good over the counter substitute?
Alan
It is a contact adhesive comparable to Pliobond. I use it for hand laying rail to the Central valley ties and turnout kits.
Pete
It’s comparable to rubber cement, on steroids.
It is a contact cement. Try Pliobond or Barge Cement, or an industrial strength contact cement.
Although I’m curious why you would need an OTC substitute…
You can get a 1oz tube at Tom’s Trains in Wethersfield for about $3.00.
3M weatherstripping adhesive, found at most automotive stores. Comes in the yellow or black. I find that Pliobond is a bit thinner and much more transparent. It works great for attaching flextrack to bridge deck. The slight amber color is much less noticable if some shows beyond the ties. Barge used w/ MEK does work fantastic for the rail to tie strips.Reapplication of the thinner (MEK) reactivates to remove or reposition any rail.
I love Goo and have never found a 100% substitute. I once read that it was originally a Nazi formula found after WWII. Not sure if that’s true.
I like that it because it can fill gaps, can setup quickly like a contact cement (pull apart, let dry, reassemble), gives a good working time for adjustments, and even when fully cured can be cut apart.
My wife gave me a tube of “Mighty Mend-it” (Billy Hayes) that I now use often in place of Goo. It’s just as “stringy” if you don’t move quickly.
Alan,IMHO there isn’t a substitute for Goo…A tube lasts for a very long time.
Google is your best friend. I did a simple search for walther’s goo.
http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips5/adhesive_tips.html#rubber
Pay attention to the comment on “Elmer’s ProBond Contact Cement”.
Rich
Because PlioBond at ACE hardware is a third the cost??? (even less at Amazon with free shipping).
Alan
BTW - I buy track, supplies, services and more at Tom’s.
GOO???
OK guys, confession time…Anyone who has seen my layout or read my book and various articles published on the Piermont Division…be it known that everything is built with GOO except the benchwork, roadbed, and of course…scenery.
Being not always correct on the first shot, Goo lets me make adjustments and even easily disassemble if necessary. For delicate work, I have found that mixing lightly using various lacquer thinners and applying from a card uisng a toothpick works wonders. It will however always be flexible to an extent. This to me is a good thing. I still use as a favorite, Floquil Dio Sol for thinning, but trying to find this stuff today is difficult at best.
HZ
Goo is very usefull in gluing two things together made of different materials, like gluing a metal detail part to a wood or plastic freight car underframe, or a metal figure to a plastic or wood seat. It’s also good in that it stays flexible for a long time and allows you to say glue plastic figures to plastic or wood seats in a passenger car, and come back months or years later and remove the figures. In other words, it doesn’t work like plastic cement where it “melts” the two pieces to bind them together.
When $3 for a tube of glue is too expensive, you need another hobby. Seriously.
Eh, there’s hundreds (thousands?) of posts on this board describing substitution of common products for hobby specfic ones - e.g. windshield washer fluid to thin paint, Min-wax finishes to replicate water, cheap Wal*Mart spray paint that produces a good matte finish instead of Dull-coat, buying MEK in quart cans instead of Testors liquid cement…and so on. Nothing new.
Although I must admit, I’ve never had much luck w/ Goo - it seems way too thick compared to, well CA obviously, but even yellow wood glue or several brands of contact cement I’ve used.I shudder to think of that our predessors in the 1950s and 1960s had to make do with Goo for their finishing needs (and I also laugh when I remember a late 1970s Walthers catalog, where a small ad for Goo was seemingly on every other page). Therefore I like the idea mentioned above about thinning it - if I ever use Goo again, I’ll use it that way.
If you are gluing wood together, and need something thinner, then it is time for Ambroid. Goo is for the mixed material gluing
I just got out my Goo last night for some Ulrich drop bottom gons. The kits had been built for some time, but now a few doors would not stay closed. I did not want the doors closed permanent, so chose the Goo over the CA.
Phil
I must admit that the past few years, Goo has been close to worthless. I have used it for many years, but the last couple of tubes were runny for a day or two, then thickened, turned brown and I end up tossing it out. Sticky, messy, stinky, enough for me.
Bob
My thoughts exactly. Thank you. This reminds me of my wife bringing home an enormous jar of mayonnais from BJ’s. “Look, honey, I saved 50%”. Good, because we’ll have to throw half of it away!
And PastorBob, admittedly two tubes in about 5 years does not make a definitive case, but neither of them dried out on me. Although, if you put the cap on too tight, it will split.
And yes, it is stinky. Messy? Only if you use too much. Sticky? Um, yeah. That’s kind of the idea…
As I said, I have used it for more years than most of you have been alive. I have used a lot more than two tubes, but, I stand by what it said. It isn’t the old Goo I used to use.
Bob