Tried using PVA glue straight from the bottle for a repair and it warped the page

I didn't thin it with water first, and now I've got a permanent ripple. Anyone know a good method for fixing this, or should I just redo the whole sheet?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicebarnes26d ago

Oh man, that exact thing happened to me on a cookbook page last year. I ended up putting it under a heavy stack of books for a week and it helped a little, but the ripple never fully went away.

the_lucas26d ago

Ugh, that's the worst feeling. @alicebarnes is right that weight can help, but a week under books might not be enough for a bad warp. You gotta get some moisture back into that paper to relax the fibers. Try putting a damp cloth, not wet, just damp, on the back of the page and then press it under something really heavy for like two weeks. It's a slow fix but it can pull a lot of that ripple out.

danieljenkins8d agoMost Upvoted

That damp cloth trick @the_lucas mentioned is a solid idea. But how damp are we talking here? Like a barely-wrung-out paper towel, or more like a cloth that just feels cool to the touch? I've seen people mess up by making it too wet and then the ink runs, which is a whole new problem. What kind of paper was it, regular printer paper or something thicker like cardstock? That really changes how much moisture it can take.