Unpopular take: stop using PVA glue for every single repair job

I see so many folks on here reaching for PVA glue for everything from spine repairs to corner fixes. But I restored a 1920s textbook last week in my shop near Philly, and PVA would have wrecked the paper. I used wheat paste instead, and the pages didn't warp or crack. Has anyone else tried alternatives like hide glue on old books?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanburns22d ago

Oh jeez, right? PVA is handy but people treat it like a one-size-fits-all thing and it drives me nuts. So how do you tell when the paper is too brittle or coated for wheat paste to even be the right call? I feel like half the battle is just knowing what not to use.

dylan_bell22d ago

You ever try to brush on wheat paste and the paper just kind of... crumbles under your fingers? That's when you know it's too far gone. I've had old posters just shred apart on me, like they were made of dried leaves. The coated stuff, you can usually tell by the weird glossy look or when the paste just beads up on top instead of soaking in. It's a pain to learn, but yeah, knowing when to just walk away from a material is half the battle.