Paste Polishing
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- When working on large Victorian Family Bibles, I use a paste wash to polish the leather rather than a wax or other polish which I find can be a bit greasy or unsatisfactory in some other way. This is a simple and effective method which I use on both the boards and the spine. If I am re-dying the leather, the paste wash is applied directly after the leather has been dyed.
PLEASE NOTE: this method is not suitable for all books or all leathers. Some leathers, such as 18th century calf bindings, may well blacken irreversibly on contact with water. If you are unsure, please contact a professional binder or conservator.
Thank you for another very useful and interesting video!
Very informative, thank you.
I enjoyed that
I am an absolutely amateur bookbinder but I guess someone could use also bee wax in this same way you used it. There is a therapeutic(handmade) skin cream made of virgin oil and bee wax that could be used too, I suppose. Am I right? Anyway thank you very much for the lesson as paste is a traditional, safe easy and handy material (and a loved one too!)
This is a great video, thank you. Quick question: everything I've read on paste is that it can attract bugs. Is this something you're not worried about here? (or since it's commercial, it's archival-safe?) Also, I know paste goes really hard when dry. Can the paste coating here get damaged with water or humidity? / reverse/ gum up, since it's reversible?
I'm rather new to bookbinding, but have been working on a project and testing a bunch of different substances to use as a varnish / finish that are natural for raw bookboard and also for leather (like you do here). How does the paste polish not gum up with humidity? Basically, what I've found: gum tragacanth as a top coat can give a great shine, but one drop of water, and it's done + too many thin layers and the coating will crack. I never thought of polishing paste as a top coating. It looks beautiful. Is it durable? And how could one make it water-proof/resistant for normal wear? (think on a journal or something you use relatively often). Also, I'm assuming applying this to raw bookboard could warp the boards or is there a way I could apply this and polish it without it warping? (apply, let dry under weight/ in press, then polish? not sure just guessing here). Thanks!
Hi - I use commercially available pre-made bookbinders wheat starch paste, though I am unsure of its archival credentials. Starch paste is used by conservators however, albeit usually made in the lab as required. I am not aware of any issues with attracting bugs, but I suspect that issue is more to do with the temperature and humidity the book is stored under. Whilst the paste does dry hard, it isn't brittle like animal glue and will only soften appreciably when in direct contact with moisture. It is this reversability of starch paste which makes it the choice of professional conservators (compared to PVA for example).
Hello, would you tell me what paste is it?
It is a wheat starch paste. I buy mine pre-prepared from Ratchfords (UK), but you can buy the powder and make it yourself.