Fastcap Speedtape?

[ednadolski]

(Not sure if this is right for 'Product Discussion', but it is a 'product' so here goes...)

Has anyone ever used or heard of this product:  Fastcap Speedtape: https://www.fastcap.com/product/speedtape

It's a double-sided tape that's used for edge banding and laminates.  I was wondering if it might work to install say cork roadbed and/or flextrack.

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Thoughts?

Ed

[C855B]

Never heard of it, but interesting stuff. Recalls a (long-ago) discussion here about double-stick tapes such as 3M foam tape, gray vs. white.

My assessment is it is probably too good. Echoing @DKS from that discussion, repositioning becomes an issue, as is removal for modification or other changes-of-mind. I have consistently taken advantage of open time with glues for adjustment, and that the bonds can be broken and glue residue sanded or ground off later, if necessary.

But thanks for bringing it to our attention, as I have a few non-MRR projects in the queue where this product could potentially simplify my world. Weldwood is a pain-in-the-neck for doing counter edge trim, f'rinstance, and I have two vexing countertop projects on the perpetually-procrastinated list.

[CRL]

Some tape products are intended for a permanent bond, and when they say permanent, they really mean it. You’ll destroy both surfaces before you’ll break the bond.

[cec209]

 i've recently seen a product called Alien Tape,  2 sided, removable, high adhesion and reusable tape advertised on TV and available in Menards.
Haven't tried it but it may be a substitute for adhesive for cork road bed and/or track.

[Maletrain]

Re: "Permanent" 2-sided tapes:

I inherited a house with 2 bathroom "medicine cabinets" with doors that were made with 2 layers of mirrors, one smaller clear mirror stuck onto a larger smoked glass mirror with some sort of industrial strength 2-sided tape.  The effect was to make a smoked glass border to a clear glass central area.

Well, after a few decades in a bathroom, "permanent" was not the accurate description for that tape.  Both, at different times (each in the middle of the night) let go and dropped the clear section onto the floor with a loud crash.  You can probably imagine the reactions of us homeowners upon hearing a bang and breaking glass in the middles of those nights.  At least no one died in the making of this experience.

So, my suggestion is to not use 2-sided tape for anything structural on a layout.  Not only is it hard to get off when you want to take something apart, it just might come apart when you do not want it to do that.

[robert3985]

@ednadolski Ed, any reason to use the ultra-sticky double-sided tape method other than tried-and-true methods?

For all of my layout and portable sections/modules, using a premium yellow carpenter's glue to attach the cork to my sanded splined Masonite or plywood subroadbed has always been foolproof and extremely robust, and gives me a little time to lay my cork roadbed to centerlines drawn on my subroadbed.

I have used watery CA to attach my ME flex to the sanded cork roadbed, holding down a 6" to 8" section of the flex with a narrow wood block while applying the watery CA, and while zapping it with Accelerator.

CA doesn't really stick very well to the engineering plastic the ties are made from, but it is strong enough to hold the track in place until I paint, weather and ballast it...the ballast cement doing a final and excellent job of holding the track in place for decades and through many trips in the back of my Suburban or in that big U-Haul trailer.

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, so that was why I was wondering if you've got a special application or need for using ultra-sticky double sided tape for attaching roadbed and track??

Just Curious...
Bob Gilmore

[ednadolski]

I was wondering if you've got a special application or need for using ultra-sticky double sided tape for attaching roadbed and track??

@robert3985 that's actually my question.   I was watching a vid of attaching edge banding (the kind without glue) to some plywood, and the guy was using the speed tape, which I had not heard of previously.  So it made me wonder if perhaps there was any possible application for it in model railroading.   I was thinking if perhaps it could make some kinds of tracklaying or scenery work go easier, quicker, neater, etc...?

I saw one vid of someone trying to remove some roll-type flooring that had been put down with the Speed Tape, and he had to use a scraper to separate the tape from the flooring (and managed to destroy most of the flooring in the process -- hopefully it wasn't the asbestos kind  )...

Cheers,
Ed