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Copper Tape 2

PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:18 am
by RichD
Shoreline Model Raceways switched to wood tracks a long time ago, so we have lots of experience with copper tape. People tend to pull on the tape as they lay it down to avoid wrinkles, but that will often cause the tape to crack later on. If you get wrinkles just burnish them out. Some people like to wet sand the paint for a better grip, if you do that the tape may not want to stick. Once in a while you might get some tape that does not stick well, either because the adhesive is defective or the tape has been sitting on the shelf too long. If it was me I would buy one roll and do a test on some scrap MDF. That would be a lot better than taping the whole track with bad tape and having to remove it to try again.
You should not have to worry about the tape wearing out, we have a couple of tracks that have been run for years with no problems with the tape. If there are places on the track where cars crash a lot the guide flags will eventually chew up the tape, which will have to be replaced in those areas.
If your track will be longer than usual there will be a slight voltage drop on the far side, you might consider adding an extra set of taps in that case.

Re: Copper Tape 2

PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 10:34 am
by philo426
THanks for the info!they had to lock my thread down because one of the other poster began to complain about Hobby Lobbys policies.

Re: Copper Tape 2

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:25 am
by RichD
So I saw, I did not get a chance to post before that happened, so I started a new thread. When you finish your track please post some pictures.

Re: Copper Tape 2

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:38 am
by philo426
I have to plan it first!will do!