Glues at Limetrees Studio

This is not a definitive study of glues - it's just the ones I use the most in my artwork.
Contact Adhesive

Most of these 'string' and they all go globby and are hard to work with neatly, BUT they don't make the paper buckle. I use Evostick for constructing boxes prior to covering them. It strings a little less and is strong and the wall of the box can stand before the other walls are added. I buy it at large hardware shops like Homebase or B&Q.

Glue Sticks.
I really don't like these because mine always dry out before I get to the end of them. They also go globby, but Tombow is the best of these. It works very well for glueing inserts into cards and for small jobs. It's hard to find in shops and I but mine on the internet.

Double Sided sticky tape
This doesn't last forever archivally, but its a good way of sticking photos in especially if the paper is reasonably thick e.g.160gsm.You can get archival double sided sticky tape from picture framing suppliers - at a price!

PVA Glue
This is woodglue and is excellent for sticking card, or even sticking paper to card (diluted PVA), but not for paper on paper as it forms a layer of acrylic and does not penetrate the paper. It will soak through thin paper, leaving a plasticky film on the outside. It is very useful to dilute wheat starch glue instead of using water, thus retaining the stickyness. I always make sure that I get the sort that doesn't have "fast drying additives" as I think these are less pure. The child-craft PVA is very weak. You cna but special archival PVA at Shepherds Bookbinders, but I think that PVA is fairly archival anyway because it is acrylic. It can be used as a "varnish" and as a gold size.

Tomorrow: The recipes and uses of archival glues:
Wheat Starch Glue
This is indispensable in bookbinding, sticks paper well and although it penetrates the paper, it does not leave glue marks on the outside. Recipe tomorrow!
Flour Paste Glue
I don't actually use this but many British bookbinders use it instead of Wheat paste. I think it has the same properties but I don't think it can be maixed to be really thin like wheat starch can for layering of Chinese papers. See tomorrow.
Methyl Cellulose
This is like a kind of archival wall paper glue. This is a fantastic glue...

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