I know everyone says to never use a hot glue gun on a spine, but it saved a project for me yesterday.

The PVA just wouldn't set on this old leather, so I ran a thin bead of hot glue down the mull and it held perfectly. Has anyone else found a weird shortcut that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

foster.jordan16d ago

Honestly, that sounds like a future conservation nightmare waiting to happen (hot glue can get really brittle and yellow). I'd be worried about the long-term damage to that old leather, even if it worked right now. Sometimes the standard methods are slow for a good reason.

jana88116d ago

Wasn't there a whole thing about how some hot glues are acid free now? I saw a video where a binder said they use a low-temp one for quick fixes on modern stuff. It's still a risk, but maybe not the total disaster we were all taught.

spencer40016d ago

That binder's video got me looking into it. The acid-free ones are still mostly vinyl acetate, which gets brittle and fails in like 10-15 years. It's a temporary patch at best.