What is a good option to adhere the track to pink foam that won’t destroy the track when/if you need to take it up? I’ve used caulk under my cork and track and it tore up my foam and trying to get the track off the cork, the rail broke loose from the ties. Would matte medium, either full of half strength hold the track down securely but not damage the foam?
Thanks,
Fred
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use Alex plus latex chalk
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The first time I used caulk the same thing happened. Then someone on the forum told me I probably used too much caulk.
I now use a tiny amount of Alex caulk, and spread that tiny amount out to a very, very thin layer. I can now put a putty knife under the track and remove the track with no damage.
I was at first worried if that thin layer of caulk would hold the track, especially around curves. The caulk held just fine.
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I think part of the problem is trying to glue track directly to pink foam in the first place. I’d use some kind of foam or cork roadbed for line and surface, and use the caulk between that and the ties.
A variety of materials can be used to hold the roadbed to the foam, some of which provide leveling to give the correct profile for the track with minimal shimming. That might be a better discussion here.
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Hi Fred,
This is the caulk that trainman90 and York1 are recommending. Great stuff and only $4/tube at Home Depot.
As suggested, spread it out thinly with a putty knife the width of your track/cork roadbed. Place your track/cork roadbed on top and let it sit overnight (8 hrs min) with weight on top. 24 hrs would be better for maximum adhesion.
The Alex Plus gives you about 45 min of working time before it starts to set up. This will allow you to make adjustments, as needed.
Tom
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I use Yellow Carpenter’s Glue to glue both the track to cork roadbed and the cork roadbed to the 2” foam subroadbed. Both the track and the cork pop off with a putty knife with little to no damage to the foam. I have no reason to believe that the track directly on the foam would not work just as well.
I find it easier to spread the yellow glue into a thin coat that does not squish through the ties. My tools are a bottle of yellow glue, my finger, a paper towel to wipe my finger off, and push pins to hold the track or cork roadbed in place until the glue tacks up.
Hope this helps,
DFF
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I have used Loctite PL300 to attach cork roadbed to foamboard. It is specifically compatible with foamboard, but I never tried to later separate it. Is Alex Plus foam compatible?
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yes
The curing agent for the Alex Plus is acetic acid (vinegar) so it’s compatible with wood, cork, and foam.
Tom
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I guess I can’t really add much here, other than to say that after 53 years of building model trains I would never lay track on foam, I would never attach track with products that don’t really stick to the plastic ties (white glue or Alex caulk) and I’m not even a fan of cork roadbed.
My trackage looks like this:
Plywood sub base, Homasote roadbed, track glued down with PolySeamSeal adhesive caulk.
And no, its is not coming up to be reused. Turnouts are not glued for several reasons, repair/service, not getting adhesive on moving parts, etc.
In my world track needs to be firm, benchwork needs to support my weight, etc.
Sheldon
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Same here. I contend that my framework would support an elephant.
Rich
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i’m laying track on Midwest cork on top of foam and bought 1/8" cork which i cut to ~1/2" strips for spurs off the mainline.
i’m lay things out, pinning down cork and then glue the cork down with a thin bead of caulk letting it mold to the caulk. I’m currently holding the track in place with nails which makes it easy to realign track that needs changes. i had had plans to use cault to glue track down more permanently. I still haven’t added feeders.
i’ve had no problems scrapping up cork and reusing it. Being able to redo things minimizes procrastination
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Amen to that. I always use nails, never adhesives.
Rich
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Nothing wrong with nails, I often nail straight track that is hidden. But I can’t say I completely understand the need to realign track?
Are you using roadbed? I do all my “civil engineering” at the sub roadbed stage. About 60% of my track is over open grid benchwork, not on a table top.
Sheldon
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I can because when laying long lengths of flex track on imperfect surfaces I often encounter a need to slightly realign the flex track, especially at the point of turnout connections with the flex track. After ballasting, I often remove the nails, but not always.
Rich
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Thanks for all the replies. I had laid track on cork a while back, now I have changed my mind about the alignment and am doing something different and more to my liking. That’s why I removed the previously installed track. But it’s still a valid question, as in if you placed an industry spur somewhere and after installing the track and structure, down the line you find you didn’t like that. Then the new idea/structure is smaller/larger than you accounted for in the first place, the scene then needs to be redone.
Where the caulk damaged the foam isn’t a major problem, I just smoothed it over with drywall compound, sanded, and repainted the board.
Thanks again.
Fred
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OK, I understand. My track locations are carefully laid out in advance, the firm surface of the Homasote is easily sanded and smoothed in advance.
Mainline trackage is all on roadbed and yards and such are on large Homasote sheets.
Once you install the Homasote roadbed, there is no easy way to move it, so that defines the track position within about 1/8" tolerance.
I’m and engineer and architect - it is all about the planning.
Areas that will have rolling or mountainous terrain are built like this for hollow hard shell scenery - no table top. Only areas with more urban scenery are built as a table top. So when you are only putting a base where the track gos, it has to be close from the start.
This is the Mid Atlantic, the only flat land is man made…
Sure, flat industrial areas can be worked out as you go, but very seldom have I have felt the need to change them after laying track.
Sheldon
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Well, that’s your prerogative, Sheldon. However, Alex Plus DOES stick and hold very well to plastic ties and cork. If you don’t believe me, try an experiment yourself.
Tom
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Count me in for white glue. It’s cheaper than most other adhesives, readily available, and easy to redo.
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Same here. I don’t have an issue with with anything else (except Goo), but it works for me and holds. I don’t glue turnouts.