Monday, June 25, 2012

New source for Pliobond

Pliobond has been used for many years for handlaying track and building turnouts, but it is now virtually impossible to get in Australia other than in industrial quantities.

Thanks to eBay, I tracked down a source from the US in small tubes, which are a convenient size for modelling purposes. Here is the eBay link



It is actually a fishing tackle shop and they sell Pliobond for coating knots, etc.  The good news is that they are happy to send to Australia and it took about 2 weeks to arrive.  I would suggest NOT ordering more than 2-3 tubes in one go as a larger order may attract suspicion from postal authorities as many suppliers will not send glues and paints via airmail.

Each tube is 30 ml, compared the last batch I bought locally which were 50 ml.  The smaller tubes are actually an advantage as it does become more viscous after several years once opened.

As well as tracklaying, Pliobond is a useful adhesive for joining dissimilar materials such as wood to styrene, metal to styrene, and wood to metal.  It usually is used as a contact adhesive by applying a thin coat to both items, letting it dry a bit, then bringing the items into contact and clamping for a while.

For tracklaying, it is only necessary to coat the underside of the rail (flatbottom only) then let it dry for 15 min or longer.  When the rail is positioned on the sleepers (usually wood), heat applied from a soldering iron to the top of the rail softens the dried Pliobond and allows it to stick to the sleepers.  The great thing is that minor adjustments to track gauge, etc. can be made anytime later simply by heating with a soldering iron.  The rail can be precoated well in advance, and the Pliobond is no longer sticky once dry.  Rail precoated with Pliobond lasts indefinitely and can be used any time.


1 comment:

  1. Thank-you for the Information about using Pliobond. This product is readily available here. I will be experimenting with it soon.

    Peter (Marquette, Michigan, USA)

    ReplyDelete