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Pro tip: I was wrong about using PVA glue for everything
For a long time I thought PVA was fine for all my bindings, but a repair job on a 1920s family bible from Savannah showed me its limits. The old animal glue on the spine was brittle, and when I tried to reattach a section with PVA, it just didn't flex the same way and started to crack again after a few months. I switched to a wheat paste and hide glue mix for that kind of work and the difference in flexibility is huge. What's your go-to adhesive for repairing really old, flexible bindings?
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mianelson2d ago
I made the same mistake with a batch of old pulp magazines. PVA seemed fine until the pages started pulling away again. Now I keep a jar of wheat paste mixed with a bit of methyl cellulose for that kind of flexible repair. It dries way slower but the bindings move like they're supposed to.
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blakestone2d ago
PVA is way too brittle for old paper. The wheat paste mix lets things flex without cracking. That's the only way to keep those old bindings alive.
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