Remember when we all used to use that thick, yellow PVA glue for everything?

I was cleaning out my old bench drawer and found a half-dried bottle of it, which got me thinking. For years, I used that stuff for spines and endpapers, no question. Then about three years ago, I tried a specific wheat paste recipe a binder in Portland shared (it's just flour, water, and a bit of vinegar). The difference is night and day. The PVA gets brittle over time and can crack, especially on older paper. The wheat paste stays flexible, it's easier to reverse if you mess up, and it just feels... right. I did a side-by-side test on two copies of the same 1970s paperback, and after a year in my dry workshop, the PVA one had a stiff, creaky hinge while the wheat paste one opened smooth as butter. Has anyone else made the full switch to paste for certain jobs, or do you still keep a bottle of PVA around for specific things?

2 comments

2 Comments

blakem373h ago

Totally get that, it's a game changer.

lopez.simon19m ago

Isn't it wild how many things feel like that now? @blakem37, I see this everywhere, like when a new app or tool just clicks and changes your whole routine. It makes me wonder if we're all just waiting for the next small fix that flips everything. That moment of "why didn't I do this before?" is becoming a whole mood for how we live. It's not just about one thing, it's this pattern of tiny upgrades adding up.