Watched a guy in Portland fix a broken spine with wheat paste last Tuesday

I was over at a friend's shop near the Pearl District, and this older binder had a 1890s textbook with the spine completely split down the middle. He mixed up some wheat paste right there, brushed it on the mull and the old signatures, and clamped it flat with a couple wooden boards. Took maybe 20 minutes of hands-on work and he just let it sit overnight. Has anyone else seen wheat paste hold up better than PVA for really old brittle paper?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_hart9d ago

Wheat paste on a textbook from the 1890s? That's just asking for a moldy paper salad in a few years, but hey, Portland does what Portland wants.

ray_patel279d ago

Guy I know tried wheat paste on a 1900s German hymnal last fall. The paper was so brittle you could see through it. He said the paste soaked in like a sponge and actually softened the fibers instead of stiffening them like PVA does. After a week it held solid, no mold, no smell. He keeps it in a dry closet with a fan on low. PVA would've probably turned that thing into a brick.