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I used to think PVA glue was always worse than wheat paste. Switched on a rebind job last month and now I'm not so sure.
Been doing this 6 years now and always swore by wheat paste for any repair work. Felt like PVA was just for cheap projects or beginners. Then I had to rebind a 1920s poetry collection for a library in Columbus and the pages were just too brittle. Wheat paste kept causing the paper to ripple. Gave up and used PVA on a test page and it laid flat as a board. No distortion at all. Guy at the library said they use PVA for fragile paper all the time. Now I'm wondering how many books I've made worse over the years by sticking to 'the right way'. Anyone else changed their glue habits after a bad experience?
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wadepalmer5mo ago
Oh man, I gotta jump in here. I think you might have the PVA vs wheat paste thing a little backwards for some cases. Wheat paste is actually better for really fragile paper sometimes because it's reversible and puts less stress on the fibers when it dries. PVA is strong but it's not reversible at all, which can be a problem if someone needs to undo your work later. But you're right that PVA lays flatter on brittle pages since it doesn't introduce as much moisture. For that old poetry book, maybe you lucked out, but I wouldn't ditch wheat paste entirely for general repairs. Were the pages super toned or just dry and crispy when you worked on it?
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benw875mo ago
Yeah, I used to think the opposite too, but you've got a point about reversibility.
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