Hot take: I was wrong about using PVA for everything

For the last three years, I used standard PVA glue for every single book repair in my shop. I just figured it was the safe, all-purpose choice. Then I had to fix a 19th century leather journal with a broken spine, and the PVA made the leather way too stiff and brittle after it dried. My mentor told me to try wheat starch paste instead, and the difference was huge. The paste stayed flexible and didn't damage the old paper at all. It took longer to set, but the result was so much better. Has anyone else switched adhesives for specific types of restoration work?

4 comments

4 Comments

angelaw783mo ago

Three years of PVA on everything, wow, that's a long time to stick with one glue.

ivan_murphy803mo ago

Methyl cellulose saved my butt on some old comic books too.

angelarivera1mo ago

Yeah I feel that about the old comics. I mean I had a similar thing with some vintage paperbacks where I used the wrong kind of glue and the pages started wrinkling real bad. Methyl cellulose is just so forgiving that way. It's like the one glue you can actually undo if you mess up, which is a lifesaver for anything old or fragile. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather take longer with that stuff than risk ruining something irreplaceable again.

reese_hayes713mo ago

My first year I ruined a 1920s photo album with PVA. The pages stuck together like cardboard. Switched to methyl cellulose for that kind of thing and never looked back.