Dismissed PVA glue for years, now I regret it

I was all about that fancy starch paste for my bindings until a 6-month-old book I made started cracking at the hinges. Swapped to a basic PVA for my last project and the joints are way more flexible, no issues so far. Anyone else stubbornly avoid certain glues only to get proven wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

williams.luna15d agoTop Commenter

Jumped on the PVA bandwagon last year after my favorite sketchbook fell apart. @sullivan.quinn you're right, it's humbling when the simple stuff works better. I used to swear by that fancy Japanese wheat paste too, thought PVA was for beginners or something. Now I use PVA for most things, just mix in a little water when I need it thinner. Funny how we overthink this stuff, the basics usually win in the end.

cora81315d ago

Kicked myself so hard when I finally tried PVA, I almost fell over. @sullivan.quinn it's like we all have to learn the hard way that glue snobbery is a fast track to cracking bindings. At least we can embarrass ourselves together now.

sullivan.quinn15d ago

You ever have one of those moments where you kick yourself for being so stubborn about something simple? I feel that. I stuck with wheat paste for way too long thinking it was the only "proper" way...