PSA: Stop using PVA glue for bookcloth hinges unless you want a headache

I was binding a hardcover journal about 3 months ago for a client in Portland and the cloth hinge kept peeling away from the boards after a week. Frustrated, I posted a photo in a bookbinding group and a guy named Tom commented, 'Check your glue. PVA dries too stiff on lighter bookcloth.' He was right - I had been using basic Lineco PVA for everything. Switched to a flexible gel-based adhesive (I use the Ph neutral one from Talas now) and the difference is night and day. The hinge moves with the book instead of fighting it. Now I also brush a thin layer of the flexible glue on the spine side of the cloth before attaching it to the boards. Has anyone else dealt with hinge peel and found a different fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hayden2d ago

I'd start by saying Tom was absolutely right about the PVA drying too stiff. I've been using the same flexible gel adhesive from Talas for about a year now and it's been a total game-changer for me. The hinge moves so much more naturally and I haven't had a single peel-back issue since switching. Some folks in my local guild swear by mixing in a bit of wheat paste but I've never bothered, the gel stuff just works.

the_jordan2d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on this one. Had a similar thing happen with a batch of commissions last year where the hinges on three different books started lifting after two weeks of normal use. It drove me nuts trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I actually ended up switching to a different method entirely now where I use a thin layer of flexible PVA mixed with a tiny bit of wheat paste on the hinge area, and it holds up way better. The Talas stuff you mentioned sounds promising though, might have to order some and give it a shot on my next project cause I still get nervous when I glue down lighter cloth.