Was dead against using PVA for leather covers, but a bad batch of paste proved me wrong

I've always used proper wheat paste for any leather binding work, swore by it for years. Then 4 months ago I got a batch that went moldy within a week on a commission for a local historical society. Switched to Lineco PVA on a new project just to try it and honestly, the adhesion is way better and no mold issues after 2 months. Anyone else find PVA actually holds up better on leather than people let on?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert24814d ago

Give @elizabethhart's PVA theory some time. I found it holds fine after 3 years on a repair job.

elizabethhart14d ago

Two months isn't long enough to make a call on this. Give it a year or two and see how that PVA holds up against humidity changes and natural leather movement. That's the real test, not adhesion straight out of the gate. Plus, PVA is basically plastic glue, it doesn't breathe like paste does and it can turn brittle over time on flexible materials. Your bad batch of paste was bad luck, not proof that paste is worse. Stick with what the old timers used for centuries before the chemists got involved.