I want to glue down my track and I don't want to use those ugly nail heads.. I was wondering what type of glue do you all use? goop or CA or artist mat medium or mat gel? I'm an abstract artist when I'm not playing trains and I could some of the medium gel I use to build texture on my paintings I thick would work wonders on atlas c55 track.. I forgot to add, that I have thick 2" white beaded foam.. I hate it, it is so messy.. my question is if I were to use a thick enough glue, would it be ok to just glue right down on that? Or should I go out and buy 3/4" of the tighter blue board foam and then glue that on top then glue my track on it?
I'm no fan of the old white beaded foam, so prefer to not use it. Except on occasion as filler when building up terrain. Some folks use track nails to hold everything in alignment until ballasting is completed, then pull the nails out. It seems to be solid enough for most people that way. Others have used white glue, yellow glue, caulk and liquid nails type adhesives which are plastic and foam safe. You might try experimenting with various methods, using some scrap track and base materials. See which works best for your particular needs.
Probably the safest until you are comfortable would be white glue. You may want to test to see the results.
Hello Brian You can use: White Glue or Carpenters Glue... just put some books on top to hold it down until it cures. I have also used Low-Temperature Hot Glue... though faster setting... still need to put weight on top as noted above. You can use Mat Medium as well... though... it is cheaper to use white glue... almost the same thing. The real concern is that beaded foam. I hate it!!! Very messy and dents easily. Your best bet is to use a dense extruded foam board such as the pink colored Corning Formula-R insulation foam or the blue Dow Styrofoam insulation board. It is more difficult to cut into with a knife... though it probably should be cut with a hot wire foam cutter. Most modelers that use these two are pretty happy with the results. The white beaded board could be 'stiffened' with a Gesso impregnated gause material... this is often used regardless of the type of sub-structure (cardboard lattice, foam board etc).
I swear by Weldwood gel formula contact cement. Eight bucks' worth will do several hundred feet of track. If you need to lift it after the fact, a little jimmy with a spatula works... Otherwise solid but flexible. Water based glue doesn't move it when ballasting... Find at your friendly big box home improvement center.MHO, Otto
Brian, As others have said, do not use the white beaded foam if you can avoid it. And, as you observed, there are better ways to hold track than those track nails. I always drove them off-center and break ties or bend the damned nails. If you can get some 3/4", 1", or 2" thick extruded foam insulation board at your local home improvement joint, you'll be much better off. You can glue the track to that, or you can buy the cork roadbed. Carpenter's (yellow wood) glue works well as a track glue, as does any type of acrylic or latex caulk. On my latest layout I decided to try Scotch Double Sided Foam tape. I simply traced out the track diagram, unrolled the stuff around the route, and then uncovered the top side to stick the track down. Have to be careful under turnouts, because the tape sticks to the switch rods. Have to cut away a small slice of the tape under the switch rod. Also, the paper that covers the top of the tape does not like to go arouund curves, so I had to uncover the tape as i went around the curves, and then cut up short pieces of the covering to protect the tape until I was ready to lay track. It's been in service for just about 3 years and performs well, and was an easy and quick way to get the track down. Some of the curves did need a bit of attention, since the flex track's tension wanted to pull way from the tape, so a bit of glue and temporary weights solved the problem. good luck with whatever method you decide.
The Woodland Scenics 'Foam Tack Glue' product is amazingly excellent! It dries quickley enough to be handy, but not too quick as to not have time to work with it. A little goes a long way - a smear, a dab - and it comes back apart very easy. Yes its a white glue, BUT i think the formula is at a better mix than say like Elmers is, to me Elmers takes all night and half the next day to dry.
I will second the recommendation for using latex caulk to glue roadbed to foam and track to roadbed. I use the least expensive house brand caulk available at Wal-Mart. Apply a thin, even coat with a putty knife. You don't want so much caulk that it oozes up between the ties. I also second the recommendation to avoid the white beaded foam if at all possible. It is inferior in every way to the pink or blue extruded polystyrene foam. - Jeff
