A retired binder in Philly told me to stop using PVA on bookcloth, guess who was wrong

He said the glue would bleed through and ruin the texture, and after 4 months of my covers lifting on the corners, I finally switched to wheat paste and now the linen lays flat, has anyone else had PVA fail on them that way?

2 comments

2 Comments

paule5319d ago

Stop using PVA on bookcloth" hit me right in the gut because I had the exact same nightmare with a batch of covers last year. My corners started peeling back after about three months, and I was convinced it was my pressing technique or the humidity in my shop, not the glue itself. Switched to wheat paste on a whim and it was like night and day, the cloth just sinks into the boards instead of fighting them. That retired binder knew what he was talking about, PVA is way too aggressive for that woven texture, it seals the surface instead of grabbing it. So yeah, you're not alone, and I'm kicking myself for not listening sooner too.

harper_wright19d agoTop Commenter

Wheat paste gang, honestly. PVA on bookcloth is just asking for trouble, it never lays right.