Wheat Paste and PVA Paste Recipe

The Basics:

When should I use just paste? To mount large pieces or lightweight pieces of paper, to reinforce folds and to line boxes and portfolios.

Advantages of Paste: A major advance of working with paste is that stains can usually be removed easily with clean water. Sheets mounted with paste can generally be removed without damage.

PVA: PVA (like Jade 403) can be thinned with water, but once dry it becomes water insoluble.

When to use PVA? PVA is used to glue cardboard together, to attach heavy paper to cardboard, and to glue small areas.

Mixing Instructions

First Prepare the Wheat Paste
Add four parts water to one part paste. Add paste to cold water and mix until smooth.
Add more paste or more water to achieve the desired viscosity.

Mix the prepared Wheat Paste with PVA
Mixtures of paste and PVA result in a very versatile medium. Even a small addition of PVA makes the adhesive water-insoluble after it has dried. The drying process itself is accelerated, and the moisture causes the paper to buckle less than it would with the use of pure paste.

On the other hand, PVA can be improved by the addition of a small amount of paste. It will dry more slowly, which can be a definite advantage, and its easier to apply. A sheet that has just been mounted can be taken off if not too much time has passed, and paste can be used as a thinner instead of water during the process.

Adhesive Chart

Paste	PVA	Use
100%	-	Lightweight paper on paper or cardboard.
4 parts	1 part	Medium weight paper on paper or cardboard.
1 part	1 part	Heavy paper and woven materials on cardboard.
1 part	4 parts	Lighweight cardboard on cardboard or wood.
-	100%	Cardboard on cardboard.