Repairing a tear in glossy paper

DiscussieBook Care and Repair

Sluit je aan bij LibraryThing om te posten.

Repairing a tear in glossy paper

1BenWaddington
aug 1, 2018, 5:11 pm

Maybe this is a specialist conservation technique? I have various Japanese papers and methyl cellulose starch ready to go but the paper I'm trying to mend is rather too glossy for the paper to adhere. I was surprise that it just fell away when dry. Don't want to use tape but the tear is likely to get worse if I don't do something soon...

2lilithcat
Bewerkt: aug 1, 2018, 5:38 pm

Have you tried Japanese mending tissue, such as Lineco makes?

3BenWaddington
aug 2, 2018, 2:31 pm

The J- tissue I've used doesn't adhere to glossy. Maybe reversable tape is the answer?

4WholeHouseLibrary
aug 2, 2018, 2:46 pm

You're applying it to the back side of the paper, right? It shouldn't be glossy there. Or maybe it is; I don't know.
I've mended hundreds of glossy papers, and haven't had that issue.

5jonsweitzerlamme
nov 27, 2018, 11:18 am

Please don't use any pressure-sensitive tape. You can try heat-activated adhesive on tissue, but Japanese tissue with a wheat starch paste might be better.

6varielle
apr 6, 2023, 6:32 pm

I have a small collection of prints, some finer than others. While trying to frame one, my fumble finger made about a one inch tear on the top. It’s old and not fine paper, almost the texture of newsprint. What’s the best way to repair it or keep it from getting worse?

7Andy_Dingley
apr 7, 2023, 10:26 am

Typical repair for that would be to paste Japanese kozo tissue onto the back, using a starch or cellulose-based paste.

There are lots of web resources on techniques, and on what and where to buy.

The paste can be either pre-coated onto the tissue, something you buy, or (more traditionally and not too hard) made up fresh from cooked rice or wheat. For a first job, I'd suggest buying some pre-coated sheet or tape from one of the reputable dealers in binding and conservation materials.

https://www.preservationequipment.com/Blog/Blog-Posts/How-to-repair-a-tear-in-pa...

8varielle
apr 8, 2023, 6:04 pm

>7 Andy_Dingley: Thank you!

9A.Christophoro
jun 19, 2023, 12:51 am

I work in a conservation lab where we regularly repair books and periodicals with glossy paper. In most cases, because glossy paper is so prone to cockling, we avoid using anything too wet. So, if we're using wheat starch paste, we make it with a higher concentration of wheat starch, and we use as little as possible. We have found that it's hit and miss with wheat starch paste and heat set tissue. The only thing that works every time is PVA. If we use PVA, we use it straight and undiluted. This goes against normal conservation standards of reversibility, but when PVA is the only thing that works, that's what we use.

10Andy_Dingley
jun 23, 2023, 6:03 am

What's 'PVA' though? (conservators have two of them): Polyvinyl Acetate (woodworker's white glue), or Polyvinyl Alcohol (more likely in conservation work) ?

11Glacierman
Bewerkt: jun 23, 2023, 12:57 pm

In this case, PVA is polyvinyl acetate. I use Jade #403. It dries clear and flexible. There are others, some of which while drying clear also dry inflexibly. Elmer's glue is one such.

12maisiedotes
jun 23, 2023, 7:58 pm

>11 Glacierman: Is it sticky when dry?

I have this—Lineco PVA—https://a.co/d/9ltZkw1. When dry, it is sticky, which I don't like, but it's my first bottle of PVA (I have had it for a year) so I was wondering.

13Glacierman
jun 24, 2023, 12:33 pm

>12 maisiedotes: Jade 403 is not sticky when dry, just flexible. I use it to line the spines of books I bind and to adhere cloth/paper to the boards as well as for attaching endsheets. For leather, I use wheat paste.