PSA: I tried using that 'archival' PVA glue from the craft store for a repair on my 1908 copy of 'The Wind in the Willows' and it left a permanent, shiny stain on the foxing.

Has anyone found a truly pH-neutral adhesive that doesn't react with old paper, or is mixing your own wheat paste still the only safe bet for century-old books?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.michael1d ago

Permanent shiny stain" is why my own book repairs look like a toddler did them.

perry.skyler1d ago

My old copy of Dune has a shiny patch on page 47 from a tape fix twenty years ago. It's a bit ugly, but the spine is still holding. I've seen way worse damage from people trying to fix books with duct tape. At least the pages don't fall out.

wren9781d ago

That's just the adhesive drying clear.