Rant: People who use cheap PVA glue for book repair

I had a customer bring in a 1920s family Bible last month that someone tried to fix with standard school glue. The spine was a crusty mess, pages were stuck together, and the leather was peeling off in chunks. It took me 3 hours with a hair dryer and a palette knife just to separate the sections without tearing them. Does anyone else run into this kind of shortcut repair work, or is it just me dealing with these messes?

3 comments

3 Comments

zaranelson11d ago

School glue is like $2 and works fine for most paperback rips though.

xena_hernandez9811d ago

Three hours with a hair dryer?

brooke44811d ago

Girl @xena_hernandez98 I feel your pain. I've totally been there with stubborn sections. Pro tip: rough dry your hair till it's like 80% dry first, then focus the heat on those tough spots. Works way faster than going straight in with soaking wet hair.