Hi,
I just finished my very first bottle of "white glue" that I purchased in France at Decocuir.
I also use neoprene glue from time to time but I don't like the solvent.
Philip is recommending PVA glue and I would like to buy one if possible at my usual shop (online) just to avoid extra shipping cost.
Would you have any brand and type to recommend me?
I have white glue for wood (Titebond) but I'm not sure this is PVA.
Thank for your help here.
Alain.
Hi Alain, sorry for the late reply, I just saw this post.
Titebond and other such wood glues are only really good for gluing leather to porous hard surfaces such as MDF and wood. A leather wrapped box for example. Wood glues tend to be too brittle for the flexibility needed on most projects. Bags and wallets for example.
Your best bet is to buy some PVA from your local store and test it on leather. Make sure it flexes without cracking. A good idea is to glue two pieces of leather together and let it dry. Place it in a container and stick it in your fridge to get cold, then test to see if it bends without cracking. Sometimes PVA seems flexible, then when it gets cold (a bag in winter for example) it can crack when bent. If it passes the test and the bond is strong, you are good to go.
I use one that I buy at Rougier&Plé called Créa. They also have one called Flexiplé which they claim to be polyvinyl alcohol (instead of polyvinyl acetate or PVAc, which is the common white glue, Elmers glue, etc), but I haven’t yet tried it and I don’t really know how similar or not it is to PVAc. Maybe Phil can clear this doubt?
I couldn’t find any PVA at Decocuir but you should be able to find it in most art or paper stores. If anything, I’d stay away from more “school grade” white glue. I don’t know how quality may vary from brand to brand but I’d think the ones focusing on kids would be of lesser quality (pure prejudice, I’ve no idea).