That tip about moisture in glue pots saved my project

A old timer at my local shop told me to always cover my glue pot when it's sitting on the warmer. I didn't think it mattered much since I was just doing a simple rebind on a novel from 1982. But after 20 minutes, the glue got these little bubbles and chunks that ruined the first spine I tried. Has anyone else had their PVA go bad just from sitting out too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbarac951mo ago

Exactly what @the_pat said. My buddy left his open once and it turned into a gluey mess.

the_pat1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah no kidding, moisture is a sneaky killer with PVA. I've had glue pots go bad in under an hour if I leave the lid off, especially in a humid shop. The bubbles and chunks you saw are from water evaporating out and the glue starting to skin over. Once that happens you're basically trying to spread plastic chunks around. Always keep that lid cracked or fully on when the glue's hot and sitting.

uma_webb281d ago

The same thing happened to me last month with a batch of PVA I left uncovered while I ran to grab coffee. Came back after maybe 45 minutes and the top had this gross skin on it that I had to scrape off. The glue underneath was all stringy and lumpy too, like it had started drying out from the top down. I tried to stir it back together but it was never the same, ended up having to toss the whole pot and start fresh. Now I keep a damp paper towel over the opening even when the lid is cracked, just to be safe.

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