Found out the Library of Congress uses a special glue that lasts 500 years

I was reading a really old book on restoration from the 80s and it mentioned they use a wheat starch paste that's been tested to hold for centuries. It blew my mind because I've been using a standard PVA that might yellow in like, 50. Has anyone here actually tried making that kind of historical paste for a project?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_morgan2mo ago

Try making some and see how sticky it gets.

lee.diana2mo ago

Yeah, I saw a thing about how the type of sugar really changes it. Like, using corn syrup instead of regular sugar makes a huge mess that's way harder to clean. They did a side-by-side test and the corn syrup batch just coated everything and wouldn't let go.

skyler_kim19d ago

@lee.diana right, I read corn syrup basically turns into permanent glue.