How to close the gaps---need advice!

I tried my best to make my train tables as even as possible, and then used lichen or other scenery materials to hide any gaps between the tables. I tend to take the simplest and easiest Rube Goldberg approach to solve such problems. Arnold 

AJ - actually I would do both - wall compound to fill the crack and masking tape on top. If the wall compound splits the tape will cover it. When adding ground cover I assume you will be painting first so there will be no issue. Even if you don't paint and just spread scenic glue, ground cover will still stick to the tape.

A wood working treatment -but time consuming. Tape the bottom of the homasote. Make some (probably a lot!) saw dust. Pack it into the seams and add CA glue (thin liquid stuff). The mixture will be hard as a rock but can be sanded level.

Joe

Joe does the CA glue/saw dust solution effect the sound deadening capabilities of the homasote?

I did this a week or 3 ago. I extended some of my turntable whisker tracks in newly available square footage  (workbench was moved) "land".

I filled the gap with plain old batroom/kitchen caulk, let it cure, then sprinkled/blended new dirt, then glued down with regular soap/glue/water mix.

The old land is at the loco pilots (I didn't even move them for the process, though I did drape a towel over them during the wet work). Longer locos will occupy these tracks. And that window is going.

Using Joe's trick, you can first mix the sawdust with wood glue into a paste and then insert the paste into the gaps and let harden. It can then be sanded smooth. I then cover it with duct tape and haven't had an issue with the tape coming up. The tape comes in different colors and can be painted over, glued and ground cover applied over it.

Hi A.J. ,

The suggestions about using tape or glues as filler make sense, of course.

However, what I did was to ignore the seams, for the most part.

That is, I crafted all my vignettes and miscellaneous scenery onto baseplates, which provided a saving of time, effort, narratives, details, and expense when I have decided to change a scene by putting it elsewhere or altering it.

As I trust you can discern among these examples of my ignoring the seams on a layout, constructing each scene on its own base; then, filling in groundcover(s) and/or foliage, and neighboring vignettes, when desired and planned, obliterates any seams.

If a scenery/landscaping effort culminated in a seam still being visible, I have used tape or thick glues, like Liquid Nails or Gorilla Glue, to fill the gaps, which have been rare, and then I have crafted scenery elements over them, creating a seamless expanse...

I have other examples, if you would like to see more.

FrankM

For Homosote seams I sand with  vac equipped 5" orbital then apply a smooth level Portland based floor patch available at HD.  Sand and paint.

Then using a spiral easement template I draw a R.O.W. centerline

Moonson posted:

Hi A.J. ,

The suggestions about using tape or glues as filler make sense, of course.

However, what I did was to ignore the seams, for the most part.

That is, I crafted all my vignettes and miscellaneous scenery onto baseplates, which provided a saving of time, effort, narratives, details, and expense when I have decided to change a scene by putting it elsewhere or altering it.

As I trust you can discern among these examples of my ignoring the seams on a layout, constructing each scene on its own base; then, filling in groundcover(s) and/or foliage, and neighboring vignettes, when desired and planned, obliterates any seams.

If a scenery/landscaping effort culminated in a seam still being visible, I have used tape or thick glues, like Liquid Nails or Gorilla Glue, to fill the gaps, which have been rare, and then I have crafted scenery elements over them, creating a seamless expanse...

I have other examples, if you would like to see more.

FrankM

Frank, please correct me if I'm wrong, but are you essentially saying you filled in the gaps using a Rube Goldberg approach like I did, by covering the gaps with scenery materials?

If so, your Rube Goldberg approach turned out to be much more elegant than mine.

LOL, Arnold

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I tried my best to make my train tables as even as possible, and then used lichen or other scenery materials to hide any gaps between the tables. I tend to take the simplest and easiest Rube Goldberg approach to solve such problems. Arnold 

Hey Arnold, you know good ol' Rube?  He's my buddy too, he comes over and helps out quite frequently when I'm doing scenery work! 

Small world, heh? 

Richie C. posted:

Using Joe's trick, you can first mix the sawdust with wood glue into a paste and then insert the paste into the gaps and let harden. It can then be sanded smooth. I then cover it with duct tape and haven't had an issue with the tape coming up. The tape comes in different colors and can be painted over, glued and ground cover applied over it.

Yes, this is probably a much better idea.  Trying to sand a rock-hard CA glue seam level with a relatively soft substrate like homasote isn't going to end up quite as nice as you might at first believe.

Don't overlook light-weight spackling compound either, it makes a darned decent seam filler.  Might even be able to mix with some homasote dust?  Regardless, doesn't weigh much, dries fairly quickly, and sands quite easily.  Good chance you won't even need to use any tape. 

Whatever buildings and other scenery did not cover I just use duck tape over it and then paint it. My base is 2" foam and the rest you never see. 

What Frank M posted is basically how I did it. Pay attention to what Frank has to say about scenery, he is truly the expert on this board. 

Dave

This product comes to mind to use for filling in cracks here.

I use spackle, then paint over it. 

Mitch 

Paintable caulk. Done.

Moonson posted:

... I have other examples, if you would like to see more.

FrankM

Yes, please; you do fantastic work. 

Mark in Oregon

coach joe posted:

Joe does the CA glue/saw dust solution effect the sound deadening capabilities of the homasote?

Honestly don't know

As the layout moves over time with contraction and expansion (yes, even in a climate controlled environment) anything like wood filler or spackle is just going to crack becoming visible again, even through your ground cover. Best to use something flexible when dried like a caulk, liquid nails etc etc and then cover the joint with masking or duct tape, then paint over it all with a thick layer of latex paint. Even if that joint does crack or separate over time, the tape will keep it concealed below the ground cover. 

We used tape on some joints and not on others. The joints without tape eventually showed up on the surface through the ground cover. This is more likely to happen in states like CA where the ground is prone to shaking from the slightest of earth quakes. Most of you don't have to deal with that, but expansion and contraction yield the same result over time.

I filled the plywood panel butt joints with Elmer Interior Wood Filler using a putty knife, after the wood filler dried the joints were hand sanded with 150 grit sandpaper. I believe homosote is a paper based product, questionable if this wood filler would bond to homosote. Maybe a self leveling caulk might work, this is available at Menards, Home Depot , Lowes or your local hardware store.

Laidoffsick posted:

As the layout moves over time with contraction and expansion (yes, even in a climate controlled environment) anything like wood filler or spackle is just going to crack becoming visible again, even through your ground cover. Best to use something flexible when dried like a caulk, liquid nails etc etc and then cover the joint with masking or duct tape, then paint over it all with a thick layer of latex paint. Even if that joint does crack or separate over time, the tape will keep it concealed below the ground cover.

I agree that a layout expands and contracts (it almost seems like a living, breathing organism) and flexibility is desirable when filling the gaps.