Fastening track to (cork) roadbed -- what's your fav method and why?

[SkipGear]

As to the removable aspect of things, I'm not sure why it needs to be easily removable. If I am pulling track up, I am throwing it away. Just the action of pulling the track up will cause it to twist and bend in ways that it never intended. It will never go back down flat.

If I am changing a section of a layout, cut out the old, install new. Track is so cheap in the grand scheme of things, why in the world are we worry about saving it?

That said, I don't glue down turnouts, that is just for ease of repair. Turnouts will and do fail so removability is a consideration with them. Everything around the turnout is glued though which holds all in place.

[Chris333]

...and since ties are usually made from slippery engineering plastic (a highly technical term), the track is still removable, right?

All the flex is Micro Engineering and I sand the bottom of it with 60 grit to knock off any injector pin flash. Turnouts are handlaid with wood ties to bond. and yes you can tear up anything if you ask me.



Besides superglue I have used Liquid nails for projects and Loctite power grab.

[OldEastRR]

I've heard some people use 3M Fastack Trim Adhesive. Anybody try that?
Also, I've been told the only way to glue down PECO track is with ACC, nothing else sticks to the ties.

[peteski]

I've heard some people use 3M Fastack Trim Adhesive. Anybody try that?
Also, I've been told the only way to glue down PECO track is with ACC, nothing else sticks to the ties.

All (or almost all) of the PECO track on friend's layout was affixed with Pliobond (type of contact cement).  I mentioned this as a reply to your initial post (on the first page).

[OldEastRR]

Ahh, the universal question endlessly debated by mankind ... not "Is there a God?" But "How do you fasten down track on a layout?"
Not asking that, but am wondering about cost per unit. For an 7.5x11' layout with double track twice around (pre-made track, nothing handlaid), how much liquid volume of whatever glue I choose would I need? Obviously a 9 oz tube would not even be close, but then what? A quart? Two? A gallon? Has anybody figured out how many feet of track a given amount of glue will do? The candidates are the liquid glues mentioned in this thread.

[mmyers]

A quart will be plenty and probably the most economical amount of liquid glues like contact cement. Keep the lid tight, it will thicken up turning itself into "Goo" before hardening up completely.
My personal preference is Loktite Powergrab. The standard version is foam safe,sets super quick, and dries clear.

Martin Myers

[OldEastRR]

The product site description for Power Grab is it goes on and  dries white. Since I don't use ballast that will be a problem.

[Lemosteam]

@OldEastRR Google is your friend. 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ADHESIVE-ALL-PURPOSE-CLEAR-6OZ/198451529?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=282&adid=22222222227039455302&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=85489040210&wl4=pla-193556595170&wl5=9016864&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=111838817&wl11=online&wl12=198451529&wl13=&veh=sem

Two or three of these tubes would probably do you entire layout.  Note that is dries clear

[OldEastRR]

Thanx --threads like this cover pretty much everything about gluing down track except how much adhesive does how many feet of track. Don't want to overbuy since I'd have no use for a contact adhesive otherwise.

[BCR751]

Any similarity between the Woodland Scenics track glue and Aileen's Tacky Glue, i.e. dried color, holding power, cost etc.?  I've not used either one so just curious.   I'm giving up on latex  caulk.  It's just not working for me.

Doug

[davefoxx]

Any similarity between the Woodland Scenics track glue and Aileen's Tacky Glue, i.e. dried color, holding power, cost etc.?  I've not used either one so just curious.   I'm giving up on latex  caulk.  It's just not working for me.

Doug

Probably no difference.  I use yellow carpenter's glue, because it's cheap, easy to clean up, and goes a long way.  I also like how you can pull the track up with almost no residue on the track.  That Tacky Glue would probably do as well.

DFF

[chrismears]

About a year ago I tried some double-sided foam tape. The stuff I used was made by Scotch and was about 1/16" thick and perhaps 1/2" wide. It stuck nicely both to the foam on the layout as well as the track itself. I tried pressing Micro Engineering flex, PC Board ties and even wood (well balsa) ties into it and was pleased with how well it performed each time. It wasn't the most inexpensive thing I've experimented with but I was attracted to the potential and pleased I tried it. Other than cost, the other big drawback, in my opinion, was the difficulty it getting it to follow around sharper radius curves. This could be easily overcome by cutting part way through the tape, along the outside edge.

I looked for a photo but could only find one that I posted to my blog that I took when first experimenting:


I've also tried the clear, double-sided tape, like we use to bond a turnout to a paper template at the workbench when building track. Similar thoughts on cost as with the foam tape but a bit more flexible around curves. Of course, unlike the foam tape which is sort of thick enough to begin to approximate roadbed, the tape is tape. Here's a photo I found from when I was working on some handlaid track right on the layout. Ties in this photo are stuck down, on the layout, using the tape:


Last weekend I actually started stripping down some modules for a switching layout I'd built. On this layout I'd used Micro Engineering flex track and stuck it to the cork roadbed using cheap white glue from the grocery store's school supply section. With a certain "nothing to loose" attitude I carefully worked along, under the ties, and lifted the track. To say I'm impressed with just how well the track lifted would be a tremendous understatement. Despite how well this track was to lift, it was equally well stuck down on the layout. Here's some photos illustrating how well the track lifted:




In addition to the above, I've used a pile of other adhesives over the years and layouts. All worked but my least favourites earned this title for the difficulty in getting them to screed out to a thin enough bead so when I pressed the track into the glue it didn't fill the space around the ties and left room for ballast. Mind you, of all those I've tried before, Pacer Tech's Zap-a-Dap-a-Goo really impressed me. It looked like clear silicone but it tacked up like medium CA. You had to have your head together before starting to use it but man, did it ever work well.

Cheers

/chris