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Keeping braid stuck down
#1

What is your recommended method to keep braid well and truly secured to the track?  My table is in a garage which sees freezing temperatures in the winter and well into the mid-high 40's during the summer.  The braid had been laid down using the recommended 3M double sided tape, but have found it now to be lifting in the corners.
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I am not concerned about ever wanting to recover the braid from the table, so what would keep this rock solid in place regardless of temperature?

My DIY projects and failures at  https://dazee-projects.blogspot.com/ 
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#2

That's quite a temperature range to deal with.

Has the tape has come unstuck from the mdf or the braid?

I don't have any experience of gluing braid personally, but I would have thought that a contact adhesive such as Evo Stik would work well. There is epoxy glue of course, but that would be very expensive.
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#3

Lepages liquid contact cement has been used to secure braid to wood slot tracks for decades, and has been used more than any of the other methods combined. Applied properly, it is the best solution....it will resist temp. changes, and has been proven on countless commercial tracks to be extremely durable, even holding up remarkably well to frequent cleaning with solvents/applications of glue.

With a good clean (and flattening the braid ) before hand, you could patch the bad sections........it would be ideal to use a braid roller, but not absolutely necessary

Cheers
Chris Walker
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#4

Tape appears to be mostly separated from the braid and still firm on the mdf.  Braid was cleaned and dried before being used, so pretty sure no oily residue was left to weaken the bond.  

Will see if I can find something equivalent to lepages, over here a small tube of that is around $130!

My DIY projects and failures at  https://dazee-projects.blogspot.com/ 
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#5

It's fixable !!!  That's the main thing

The problem - well the adhesive on the PROPER 3M tape is extremely strong, to the point of destruction of MDF and pulling open of the braid itself.
It is used in extreme temperature situations commercially, and your swing would not affect it
So your problem has not occurred simply because of temperature changes.
I know of 3 possible other contributing causes
1) Insufficient cleaning of the braid spinning oils - or use of an unsuitable solvent which itself left a surface film
2) Insufficient pressure on braid to tape per square cm when laying it
3) Cleaning solution such as braid cleaners or a solvent track cleaner seeping onto the adhesive.

The other possibility is that you were sold the wrong 3M tape. The one which has been sold in USA for many years for this use is formula 9472.
I have tested 3 other formulas of the 3M tape, including 9471 and 9473, trying to find a cheaper solution; but none of them hold anywhere as well as 9472.
I have also imported 4 versions of "VHB" 3M tape made in for attaching cellphone screens of unknown formula number, and it was all utterly useless.

But seeing how your braid is showing signs of lifting - peeling inwards; it appears it may also have been laid "too tight" - I always recommend that people lay it very loosely, especially as they lay it into the curves.

The repair. If you don't want to lift and re-lay the entire length, or to have to cut the braid and partially re-lay; I suggest you look at a tacky contact adhesive
I don't know what the equivalent is in your part of the blue ball, but this is what we use
CRC Ados F2
Below zero to over 40 C is wider temperature range than I have experience of with contact ahdhesive, but a small tube on some of it, is a low cost solution to trial

It ideally requires laying two beads, on on each working surface, leaving them to "tack" which will take 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending upon ambient temperature, then pressing together.
Nasty, messy tacky stuff to work with, but does a good job.  It won't be hurt by temperature changes.
Once set, it is impervious to most solvents - utter sod to get off exposed surfaces............. and fingers..............

If you do decide to re-lay the braid.
Here's my Braid laying primer
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#6

Thank you, this is very useful and at this stage I will just try to repair in the corners with a contact adhesive first.  I did lay the braid fairly loosely, trying not to tighten it.  But with the lifting being just on the corners, I was suspecting some tightness.  I have not dared to run cars with magnets on this yet - is nagnabraid.  I think it would just lift some more, so trying to fix first.  If I have to rebraid or even remake the track then so be it.  If just a single sheet of MDF and some time/effort wasted.

A major difference may be that 3M tape used.  The one I have used is F9469PC which I had taken from another posting on laying braid.  I will order the one you mentioned and give that a try on some test sheets too.  One other poibnt O have seen, someone using a hot air gun on the tape before applying the braid to it.  Recommended or not?

My DIY projects and failures at  https://dazee-projects.blogspot.com/ 
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#7

Hi Dazee - I had forgotten that number, but now you write it, yes, I have know 9469 - I got sample rolls in, not  so good for sticking down.
Nor were 9471 or 9473
I still have part rolls of them all around somewhere, but couldn't put my hands on them all this morning in a hurry, to get the numbers which are all hand written on the sides from my past experiments.


Anyway, try some kind of contact adhesive, it may save a lot of work, and some wasted braid.
But if you do need to re-braid the corners, it is easy enough to just drill a 6mm hole, and pass two ends down it where you need to join, pull them hard to make sure they don't make a bump, then fold them together under the track and whack a big staple through them, or even a short SHORT screw.  Did I say SHORT -  you don't want the end of it appearing on the track
The 9472 is pretty good. We have at least 6 tracks in our club done that way, and I have only ever seen a couple of corners lift.
None of my braiding has ever lifted on my tracks or two others I helped guys braid. WE have had to lift a bit a couple of times, and have pulled up the MDF with it......
- Oh one more reason for lifting that I forgot.

I saw a club I supplied, lay a 6 lane 130 foot track with braid and tape, and the braid all came loose within days.
They blamed me and the braid, then I read the posts of their first club night, and they had to clean the track every few laps because of the dust being kicked up from the MDF routing, off the floor which had never been swept since they routed................
The whole room was like a dust storm. So after they had stuck down the track tape and removed the backing (all at once), they had dust flying all through the room, and it was all over the top surface of the tape when they pressed down the braid . . . . . . . .
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