kim_ramirez3•12d agoMost Upvoted

I was skeptical about using PVA glue for leather bindings, but not anymore

For years I only used wheat paste on my leather book spines because I thought PVA would crack and peel over time. Then I took a workshop in Portland last spring where a binder with 30 years experience showed us her books from the 1990s still holding strong with PVA. She used a brand called Lineco in a specific ratio with water, and after testing it myself on a set of three journals six months ago, I'm sold. Has anyone else made the switch from traditional paste to PVA for certain materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverh4912d ago

a binder with 30 years experience showed us her books from the 1990s still holding strong" - okay but like, how many books did she show you? Three? Five? That's not exactly a scientific sample. I've seen plenty of "it'll last forever" claims that fell apart after a decade. I still use wheat paste for anything valuable because I've had PVA glue turn brittle on some old paperback repairs I did in college. That was 15 years ago and those books are cracking now. Not saying she's wrong, but I'd need to see a few dozen examples before I trust PVA on leather spines I actually care about.

rileygarcia12d ago

Riverh49's post actually made me reconsider. I used to be all wheat paste for anything leather but now I'm thinking I was too quick to write off PVA.