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I'm new here and am not able to get PVA glue in my small town. What have you found that's a good substitute? Elmers? Aleene's?
I know the white glues have various formulas with some mimicking the true PVA, however I've tested them and they are globby and thick. So what would you recommend in the line of a good white glue?
I know the white glues have various formulas with some mimicking the true PVA, however I've tested them and they are globby and thick. So what would you recommend in the line of a good white glue?
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I have used Sobo with excellent results. It's sold in fabric stores. It is a PVA, and seems to have extremely similar characteristics to real bookbinding PVAs. My first bookbinding teacher recommended it as the easiest fallback to find; she said she'd never heard of archival problems with it, but then, that's over a pretty short timespan.
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If your glue is globby and thick add a little bit of water (1 tsp at a time). Stir, stir, stir and see if you've gotten rid of the worst of the lumps. If it's still too thick add a little more water and stir, stir, stir again. Work with only a little bit of glue at a time (max 1 cup). The rest should stay in a SEALED container. It's when you've got the lid off and the glue exposed to air that you run into problems.
Try to get an "acid-free" white glue if you can. More and more glues are trying to get the scrapbooking market and safe "pH neutral", "acid-free" or "archival quality" on the front. These would be better glues (hopefully) than one that does not say any of that.
A note on brushes: As long as the glue is not a waterproof wood glue you should be able to revive dead/glue-soaked brushes by leaving them in a glass of water overnight. Try not to have the water extend too far up the brush though or it will saturate the wood and release the fibers in the brush leaving you with a stump of wood... -
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marg, is there a decoratoring or building supply store anywhere near you? They often sell real PVA in volume, and at much cheaper prices than craft/art shops.
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Thanks for the advice on seeking out glues at scrapbooking venues. I think I will check out my local craft shop here in my tiny town.
Your note on cleaning brushes is good advice.
To add to that note on brushes, I would suggest decanting some of the glue into a maller container when working on a project, espec. when using a brush of "questionable cleanliness".
Ya never want to see green mold growing on the top of your large container of PVA!
Mixing the globs of glue as suggested is good too and I would def. use distilled water, for the same reasons.. regarding the green stuff.
marg...
in alberta..
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Unsu...
I have a question about glue as well. I'm using PVA (though likely not the kind professional bookbinders would use) but I have no idea if I'm supposed to dilute it first, and if yes, to what ratio? That said I played it by ear today and diluted it just a bit to make my first cloth-bound book :) I'll post pictures tomorrow. I now officially love bookcloth! -
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In my experience, there's no fixed ratio, as every type or brand or mix of PVA is a slightly different consistency. (It's a real 'how long is a piece of string?' question.
You just need to it to be a consistency you can work with--too thick and it can be lumpy and too fast drying if you are covering a large area, too wet and it's hard to control, seeps through paper or cloth and loses tack.
Experimenting with small batches and offcuts of paper and cloth is really the only way until you find your prefered mix. -
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This is probably not what the professionals do - but I mix my PVA with wallpaper paste so that it doesn't dry so quickly. It allows me to reposition covers/endpapers if necessary.
I have also watered down PVA 50/50, and that works well too.
Cheers,
Lesley -
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Actually it is! Of course it depends on the kind of wallpaper paste you're using. If it's "methyl cellulose" then you're good to go. Combining PVA and Paste is typically referred to as, "Mix" And just in case you're wondering, there's no formula on how to make mix. It's either mixed, or it's not. The proportion would depend on the task. The more paste you use the more water you introduce and therefore the longer it will take for your piece to dry.
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