I am wondering if I can use white glue to fasten short, straight sections of flex to the foam. I hate to open a new tube of caulk for such a small job.
I would think it would work ok. I use latex paint to paint my foam and found out quite by accident that the latex paint is a good adhesive for gluing track down. I usually use caulk but will dip the paint brush in the latex paint for a small bit. It does save opening a new tube.[C):-)]
I have used the Latex paint to fasten down track for years!
I also found out by accident that it works very well and it also makes removing easy IF you only use a very thin coat of paint!
You do NOT want the paint to puddle up the sides of the ties!
As for White GLue - I did use some of that and found that the GLUE seemed to shrink a LOT in a few years and actually pulled away from the ties.
Although I was using it for a slightly different purpose (holding the track tight at a swing bridge entry point into the room)
but still the white glue was shrinking a lot.
I also saw this White Glue shrinkage when I used it to secure lead shot in the bottoms of my Hopper Cars.
After a few years the lead shot would come loose from the hopper bays as one large chunk
I have since been using Matte Medium and have had no further problems!
Your choise on using the White GLue!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
White glue and even my diluted white glue for scenery has worked well for securing Kadee between the rails magnetic uncouplers. I also use it with the Jiffy Rerailers that fit between the rails.
Bob
I’ve reached the point in layout construction where I’m only putting down a few feet of track at a time. Once I open a tube of caulk, it has a short shelf life, so I have been using white glue almost exclusively. I use pink foam for subroadbed, and WS foam roadbed. White glue works fine for both roadbed-to-subroadbed and track-to-roadbed.
I’ve used PVA (white) glue in the past and it works just fine for straights and sectional curves. If you were going to use it for curves of flex track you might want somethign a bit stronger, but for what you described it should be fine.
Cheers,
Kevin
Check out my Colorado Joint Line Layout at
Bruce,
No disrespect to the other honoured respondents but I offer an alternative opinion. My experience with white glue vs. latex caulk is that white glue dries quite rigid where caulk remains flexible. This has relevance when considering the sound transfer characteristics between the track and the subroadbed.
Short story, both caulk and white glue will secure the track to the sub-surface. However the white glue may result in a less quiet final installation.
Just my opinion, please don’t drop nuclear weapons on me.
Dwayne A
if you re-wet the glue (as in say for adding ballast with a spray of either water or what ever agent you use before the glue mixture), you run the risk of it releasing its bond. The track will then of course raise, move, etc. This is of course my experience.
Be my concern - when you go back to ballast the area and wet it down, the glue would come loose. On a straight section, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, as the glue applied to the ballast then dries, it would be firmly held back in position. But if this is on or near a curve, I’d be worried it would move out of alignment.
I do agree, opening a full size tube of caulk to lay a few feet of track is a waste, no matter what you can never seal it up as good as new, so unless you plan on using the rest in the near future, it will for the most part go to waste. However - they also sell caulk in small squeeze tubes, caulk gun not needed. For smaller jobs, this would be the thing to pick up.
–Randy
With my small layout, I didn’t use up a whole tube of caulk. I had only cut a small portion of the tip off and put a sheetrock screw into the opening. Then I took a piece of Saran Wrap several layers thick, secured it with a rubber band and it was still very useable over 6 months later. Actually if you buy the inexpensive latex caulk, there’s not much investment, just a waste of stuff, which bothers some of us.
Just my experience.
Good luck,
Richared
I use aluminum tape to close the end of the tube of caulking. It works well but occasionallly some of the caulk hardens in the nozzle. I like the idea of a drywall screw and maybe add some aluminum tape for good measure.
Joe
Problem is, a drywall screw is too big. I nip just enough of the end off the nozzle so there’s an opening. Too small for the usual method of sticking a nail in to puncture the foil - I have to use a piece of #20 solid wire. That’s how small a hole I used - because that’s all the caulk you need. Spread out for track, you shouldn;t really even see any white, just a slightly shiny surface where the caulk is - it’s PLENTY to hold the track. I have large round-headed push pins I use to termorary fasteners, I use one of those to close up the caulk. If it’s a couple of days, some will get hard in the end, in which case I just poke around with the pin to break it up and then squirt some on a scrap piece until I get clean white caulk - the exposed stuff turns brown, not sure why, the stuff used on the layout never turns brown, it dries clear. Might be causing the pin to rust a little.
My previous layout was an 8x12 donut, double track loop with sidings and a 3 track yard, plus 2 track service area. All of the roadbed and all of the track took ONE tube of caulk. I cracked the second tube to do the yard.
–Randy
Use a large Electrical wire nut on the end of the caulk nozzle.
Frank
I’ve always just jammed a big old nail of indetermined size and age in there and that seems to get the job done.
I used to use a nail to plug the open caulk, then I found the caulk saver at Harbor Freight. It works great, seems to save the caulk for very long periods of time, and keeps it open all the way to the foil.
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=Caulk+Saver
This is what I always do, however, it is a good idea to use a galvanized nail. Bright nails will rust in a very short time. Not too much of a problem for most of our uses for caulking spreading rusty caulk, but for any other normal storage and intended use, that rusty mess renders thecaulking unusable. If I want to store caulking, whether Phenoseal, DAP, or any PL urethanes or OSI Butyl for any extended period I will drape a piece of plastic over the nozzle and tape to the tube. As long as the seal remains intact I have had tubes last up to a year. Even if the end hardens, a DW screw threaded in will help free up the tube for use.
I wrap electrical tape winding around the tip real tight and finger squeesing the end of the tape tight. I have had this work well for up to two years with latex and sil caulk. A quarter inch of the end of the nozzel might tighten up some but just alittle preasure from the gun will push it right out. Doug
I just take the little tip part that I cut off and push it in backwards, held with a piece of painters tape over it. Works well.
However - they also sell caulk in small squeeze tubes, caulk gun not needed. For smaller jobs, this would be the thing to pick up.
But I have never seen Latex Caulk in squeeze tubes only silicone caulk. Did I miss somthing in Home Depot?
The “original” DAP actually started supplied in tubes (red sqeeze tube). Many times they were supplied w/ self rim stainless sinks, and plumbers used it exclusively. I never trusted the stuff, dried too hard for that use, used silicone to seal. Then came the better caulks, like you say, haven’t seen Alex Plus in a “squeeze” tube. Liquid Nails, silicone etc, yes.