Torn between PVA and wheat paste for a leather spine repair I tried last month

I had this old 1890s family Bible with a completely detached spine, and I couldn't decide between using PVA glue or wheat paste for the leather reattachment. I've used PVA on cloth bindings before and it's super strong, but wheat paste is reversible and more traditional. I ended up going with a 50/50 mix of the two, which I read about on a bookbinding forum from 2018. So far the repair has held up nicely over the last 3 weeks, no cracking or peeling. Has anyone else tried mixing adhesives like that for older books, or do you stick to one type?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma34920h ago

The 50/50 mix is actually a pretty common trick in the trade, but I've found it works best when you let the wheat paste sit for a few hours first to fully hydrate before stirring in the PVA. I've done maybe 15 or 20 leather spine repairs over the last 5 years, and straight PVA alone can get too brittle on older dried-out leather after about 6 months. The wheat paste gives it that little bit of give, you know, lets the leather breathe as the seasons change. Also check if your Bible's leather is vegetable tanned - the mix behaves totally different on chrome tanned stuff, takes way longer to set.

green.jessica18h ago

Yeah @emma349 nailed it about the wheat paste hydrating first. I've wrecked a couple of cheap Bibles by rushing that step, it's basically a science experiment if you skip the wait. The veg vs chrome tan thing is huge too, chrome tanned leather just laughs at your schedule and takes forever to grab. And you're right about the brittleness, I've had straight PVA jobs crack on me after the first dry winter. Definitely sticking with the 50/50 from now on, no question.