Backscene Adhesives

[GEfan]

I have some Gaugemaster backscenes which I wish to mount on my plywood backscene boards. The plywood has been primed with diluted pva. What are the recommended adhesives for mounting backscenes? I tried some slightly diluted pva as suggested in "Model Rail" but had disastrous results - the paper just bubbled up and was impossible to smooth out.

 

Model Rail also suggested wallpaper glue or spray mount adhesive. Anyone had success with these or have alternative recommendations? I don't want to ruin another sheet!

 

Neil.

[Waverley West]

Hi Neil,

 

I've had some success with both wallpaper glue and spray mount adhesive, but I use wallpaper paste these days..

 

The most important thing with both is to spread the adhesive well, thinly and consistently and apply the paper very slowly and carefully. working along the board..

 

With wallpaper paste, be patient while it's setting - bubbles (especially smaller ones) will often disappear as the paper dries. I tend to use wallpaper paste now, as I find it produces a good smooth finish, it's cheap and it lasts longer than spray mount adhesive which I find tends to lose its adhesive properties over time and need replacing.

 

HTH

Dave

[pitbull1845]

Hi Neil, I too have had a nightmare with backscenes... I used spray mount but it didnt work for me, another suggestion i saw was to use double sided tape, but obviously you have to get it right first time. I'd be interested to see how you get on with your chosen method...

Good luck

Scott

[3 link]

Hi Neil,

 

I to have just brought a backscene from Gaugemaster and I am happy with the result, what I did was to brush a thin coat of wallpaper paste onto the back board and leave for 24 hours to dry thoroughly. This helps to key the surface and then brush on another thin ( must be without any lumps ) coat and roll the paper across gently, do not panic if you see a few bubbles and refrain from proding it about, just let it set and the paper should in time be drawn back into the back board.

 

ATB, Martyn.

Edited February 20, 2012 by 3 link

[GEfan]

Thanks for your advice guys. I finally used some De-luxe materials View Glue (code AD61) which Gaugemaster themselves recommended. Glue cost me £6.50 from New Modellers Shop Ltd of Peterborough (cheapest I could find it and excellent postal service from them by the way) and it does exactly as it says on the tin. I pasted it on to the back of the paper and then mounted the backscene directly on to the ply backboard smoothing it out with a slightly damp cloth as I went along. You do get some bubbling even so but they disappear when dry leaving a perfectly flat surface. You can also move the paper a bit whilst the glue is still wet providing you take care not to rip the paper. I am satisfied with the result and they claim the 200ml bottle of glue will stick about 7sq m. I found that I only used a small amount on my backscene which is about 5m x 0.3m.

 

Picture of result attached

Neil.

[Karhedron]

I used spray mount but I am not entirely satisfied with it. It sets fast meaning you have to position it right first time or your run a big risk of tearing it as you try to reposition it. I am sure anyone who has done this knows how hard it is to get large sheets of paper exactly level and lined up.

 

Thanks for the view glue tip, I will try to remember that next time. (There's always a "next time" isn't there )

[Re6/6]

We will be using these excellent backscenes https://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/backscenes.htm for Balcombe. We've experimented with one of the paper versions but were wondering if anybody had used the slightly more expensive 'vinyl' version which one would assume would be more robust with regular removal and storage.

 

They do have a self-adhesive capability but with the difficulty of fixing vinyls by an amateur, gluing would be preferred (as recommended by the suppliers) using the DeLuxe 'View Glue'.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Re6/6

[Paddy]

When I used "normal" glues on HOLLERTON JUNCTION I would get bubbles despite my best efforts.  I then switched to 3M Spray Mount and have had no problems at all (no peeling even after 4 years).

 

Many thanks

 

Paddy

[Vecchio]

I used ordinary wall paper glue, and did exactly what you do with a wallpaper. Cover the back with past, let it set for a few minutes, and on we go. Then use a wallpaper brush to get bubbles out. Works, for me, the main problem is warping of the ply boards. (I use rather thin ply, finally I am the one having to carry the stuff...)

Against the warping problem I glue a sheet of normal paper (of course with the proper size) on the back of the ply. Similar tension from both side, on we go.

[Cabrider]

Apologies for going slightly off piste, but who makes the best backscenes. I recently had one from Gaugemaster, the industrial backscene and it's terrible, so blurry that I don't think it's useable! It looks like it was taken on some cheapo camera with colour fringeing from the poor lens.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Cabrider

[gwrrob]

On Monday, January 21, 2019 at 11:46, Re6/6 said:

We will be using these excellent backscenes https://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/backscenes.htm for Balcombe. We've experimented with one of the paper versions but were wondering if anybody had used the slightly more expensive 'vinyl' version which one would assume would be more robust with regular removal and storage.

 

They do have a self-adhesive capability but with the difficulty of fixing vinyls by an amateur, gluing would be preferred (as recommended by the suppliers) using the DeLuxe 'View Glue'.

 

I used the vinyl version on the one Tim ( Captain Kernow) took the photos for on mine, well worth the extra.

[cravensdmufan]

I took my backscenes into a picture framers, who drymounted them onto mdf boards in his vacuum press. No creases or bubbles.

[Cantabrigian]

Arrghh.  After wrecking my first gaugemaster backscenes using wallpaper paste, I resorted to re-purchasing them and going with spray adhesive.  Lots of problems with delaminating edges, and now one 3 ft section has decided to bubble up a week later.  Tried to iron it flat (made it 10 X worse) . Tried to steam it flat (made it 20X worse).  Had to walk away and have a beer.  This hobby is supposed to be fun, right? :-( 

[simonmcp]

When my friend put up his printed backscene, can't remember what make I'm afraid, we wall paper pasted the first sections to UNPAINTED plywood. The grain of the ply showed through, mostly in the sky, so we had a special mix of sky blue done and I hand painted it down to the tree line. All 16ft of it whilst kneeling on the 3ft wide baseboards. The next 12ft on another side we painted the plywood first and had no problems using wall paper paste. 

[halsey]

Just found this thread...………...

 

I am a fan of the self adhesive Art Printers ID backscenes and have used a number of them - they aren't as bad to handle as you might think and I have always managed to get a 5ft length up in one go BUT if the length worries you if you cut it (with a very sharp blade) in half it would be easier - they are only tough to get right around curves.

IMHO you do need to paint the underlying surface beforehand.