Resurfacing baseboards

[sagaguy]

I`ve almost finished dismantling my N gauge layout which was built on my Hornby Dublo layout boards but over time has left it with lots of small holes for wires.I want to recover the top with cork floor tiles to give me a clean surface & cut down on noise from HD sintered wheels on tinplate track.Anyone know the best way to stick these tiles to a chipboard surface?.

 

                             Ray.

[BG John]

I use cork sheet rather than tiles, and stick them down with PVA. Brush it over the baseboard in a nice even coat, lay the tiles, then cover the whole area with something fairly solid like chipboard. I use whatever offcuts I have lying around. Then add plenty of weight, like paint tins, toolboxes etc, and leave to dry for a day or so. If you've got holes in the boards, the glue will run through, so put something under the boards to catch it.

[Nearholmer]

That was pretty much word for word what I was going to say, but two minor additions:

 

- personally, I only "strip glue" the cork round the edges and then but a dab of glue about every 6" over the rest. This makes it easier to remove and clean-up if (when) I change my mind; and,

 

- excellent value, very good quality cork supplier http://www.charlescantrill.com

 

Kevin

[BG John]

- personally, I only "strip glue" the cork round the edges and then but a dab of glue about every 6" over the rest. This makes it easier to remove and clean-up if (when) I change my mind; and,

Is that with tiles? I don't think it would work with the 1/8" sheet I use, especially as it's usually a bit less than 1/8" anyway. I think it would bulge where there's no glue. I don't have problems removing it with a chisel, and getting a decent surface to re-lay on.

[Nearholmer]

I put sheet down using the "edges and a few blobs" method, and it worked, without bulging-up. The sheets are delivered rolled-up, and I left them to "relax"before using them, then laid them a bit like "horizontal wallpapering", not flopping down in one go and trying to flatten-out afterwards.

 

It does come off with a chisel, but it is a lot quicker, and less messy, if you don't have to chisel very much!

 

I do find it quite tricky to make long cuts in the sheets accurately though, because even a very sharp knife has quite a bit of "drag" in what is fairly dense/elastic material, so tends to pull the sheet out of line. Several very light cuts seems to be the rule. I have a feeling that what Cantrill sell might be the same as a grade of gasket material, whereas some railway modelling stuff seems more crumbly and "open".

 

Kevin

[more-kits]

Wickes used to sell packs of self adhesive cork tiles. They are a decent thickness and cut neatly with a good Stanley knife. I always lost patience with the roll cork. Far to flimsy to work with.

[DIW]

I use scissors to cut my cork underlay to size.

 

Edward S.