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Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:45 am
by one_inch_railroad
Does anyone know of a waterproof glue that works well to glue down a coal load in a hopper car? A friend and I bought some hoppers off DLS a few years ago that has a dummy coal load. The original owner said it was glued down using regular white glue. It works great until the car gets wet and the water dilutes the glue and the coal load becomes soft and shiftable.

I was looking at various waterproof wood glues online but they all say they dry to a brown color. Not sure if this would show on the coal load.

Just wondering what other people are using out there.

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:03 am
by BAdams
Here's some info from an earlier post:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=99070&p=308505&hil ... ad#p308505

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 4:14 pm
by rkcarguy
Sounds like a goey mess. Could you let it dry out and then seal it with some sort of clear product so it's waterproof?

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:46 pm
by Greg_Lewis
Hmmm. Are you sure it's the glue that's failing and that the coal isn't absorbing the water and thus breaking the bond?

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:10 pm
by one_inch_railroad
Ok I will try the polyurethane. Thanks for the info.

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:48 am
by optigman
Mix lampblack with the brown waterproof glue until it kind of matches the color of the coal. We used to mix lampblack with all kinds of plastics such as epoxy and it did not seem to affect the cure time or hardness too much. It certainly blackened up the parent plastic though.

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:02 am
by cp4449
Don’t run in the rain 🤗

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:10 pm
by chiloquinruss
Just thinking out loud here, but what about that liquid rubber stuff Flex Seal I've seen on TV. Pour a little in the space and then add the coal. Then give the coal a little downward pressure to set in the goo. I would also go to their website and see if they have some thinner and that would aid in the process. I have not tried this stuff, just thinking. Russ

Re: Waterproof Glue For A Coal Load

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 9:48 am
by Benjamin Maggi
I would mix up some two-part epoxy and brush it all over the top. It will coat everything, provide a water-proof seal, and if the coal appears shiny it would be somewhat realistic. I use it for making coal loads in G scale tenders and it works well.