My glue-up method changed after a hot summer in my garage workshop

For years, I brushed on PVA glue straight from the bottle for my text blocks, which worked fine in the winter. Last July, during a heatwave, my glue started setting way too fast and my joints were weak. Now, I always thin my glue with a bit of water in a separate dish and apply it with a small roller, which gives me more working time and a smoother spread. Has anyone else had to switch up their basic glue technique because of the weather where they work?

3 comments

3 Comments

ericgonzalez2mo ago

Oh, I feel that. I keep a spray bottle of water next to my glue bottle in the summer. A couple light mists into the glue right on the mixing stick thins it perfectly for hot days, and I can adjust it as I go. It keeps the open time much more manageable without making it too weak.

jones.brooke2mo ago

Makes me wonder if humidity is the bigger problem than heat.

kais671mo ago

Humidity is definitely a sneaky one. It's like the air is already full of water so your glue can't dry right, and your paint takes forever to set. That whole thing makes me think about how many small things in our day to day life work totally different depending on the weather. Like how bread gets soft and stale faster in the summer, or how your phone screen gets weird when you go from a cold car into a warm house. We tend to blame heat for everything, but really it's the moisture that's messing with stuff. Your spray bottle trick makes total sense because you're not fighting the air, you're working with it.