Glue pot vs. brush for spine work, the messy truth

I was doing a repair on a 1920s poetry book and tried using a regular brush to apply PVA to the spine. It got everywhere and soaked the text block. Next time, I warmed up my old glue pot and used a thin spatula instead. The control was way better and I kept the glue exactly where it needed to be. Anyone have a favorite tool for clean spine glue application?

3 comments

3 Comments

robertgreen12d ago

Heard a binder say a small palette knife is the secret for clean lines... works like your spatula idea.

josephl672d ago

My old gym had a broken water fountain for months. They kept trying fancy fixes until someone just taped a paper cup to the wall. Sometimes the simplest tool is already in your hand.

logan20512d ago

Just grab a cheap chip brush and cut the bristles down to a stub. Works like a tiny paddle and you toss it after. All this talk about special tools for a dab of glue is overkill. Robertgreen mentions a palette knife, but then you gotta clean that sticky thing. A trimmed brush gives you the control without the fuss.