Hot take: PVA glue is way better than wheat paste for most bookbinding

Been binding for about 7 years now (mostly repairs and some personal projects) and I keep seeing people swear by wheat paste for everything. I tried it for a solid 3 months on a batch of 12 books. The smell got to me, waiting for each layer to dry took forever, and I had 2 spines come loose after 6 months. Switched back to PVA and none of those issues. Wheat paste has its place for certain historical reproductions I guess, but for everyday binding? PVA wins every time in my book. Who else sticks with synthetic glue?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_murphy2116d ago

My cat knocked over my PVA jar last week and it still cleaned up easier than wheat paste would have.

dianaanderson16d ago

Oh man, preach! PVA for life, that cat accident cleanup is a major perk I never thought of.

hugo_robinson2516d ago

Wait, your cat knocked over a whole jar of PVA and it was still easy to clean up? That's wild. I've had spills that turned into a nightmare if I didn't catch them fast enough, but I guess it depends on the floor. My last cat got into a bucket of leftover paint once and that was a whole different story.