That moment at the library repair station that changed my glue game

I was over at the downtown library last month helping a buddy patch up some old reference books for their local history collection. We're just using my usual PVA mix like I always do, slapping it on pretty thick because that's how I learned in school. One of the volunteer ladies walks over, picks up my brush, and says 'honey you're drowning the spine, less is more.' She showed me how to use just a thin layer and actually let it tack up for a few minutes before closing the book. I tried it on a beat up copy of a 1967 atlas and the pages came out flat, no bubbles, no weird crinkling. Now I do the same with my leather book repairs at home and I'm using half the glue I used to. Has anyone else had a random stranger teach them a basic trick that totally flipped their process? It makes you wonder what other simple stuff we're doing wrong.

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1 Comment

ruby_foster9320h ago

omg the same thing happened to me with fabric glue. i was gluing some patches on a denim jacket and this old lady at the craft store was like "you're gonna have a stiff mess if you keep globbing it on" and showed me to just use a tiny dab and spread it with a toothpick. saved my jacket and my sanity honestly.