Glue brush vs. roller for spine work... the roller wins for me every time

I know a lot of binders swear by a good glue brush for applying adhesive to spines, saying it gives more control. I used to be in that camp too, especially after a workshop in Austin where the teacher said brushes were 'the only proper way'. But after a project last month where I had to rebind a set of 12 old ledgers, I switched to a small foam roller on a whim. The difference was night and day. The roller put down a perfectly even, thin layer in half the time, with no brush hairs getting stuck or streaks forming. I used a 4-inch foam roller from the hardware store that cost about $3, and it made the whole process so much cleaner. I don't think I'll go back to a brush for spine glue unless it's a tiny, one-off repair. Has anyone else made this switch and found the same thing, or am I missing some downside to the roller method?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ryan3d ago

Hardware store rollers on actual books?!

simon71714d ago

Switched to a foam roller last year after a brush shed a hair right into a first edition spine. Never looked back. The roller gives such a smooth, even coat without any of the fuss. I use the cheap ones from the hardware store too, they last for ages if you clean them right after. It just makes the whole job faster and cleaner, especially for anything bigger than a pamphlet.

rubyschmidt14d ago

Wait, are we talking about putting hardware store rollers on actual books? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Foam rollers can leave tiny bubbles in the coating that you don't even see until they dry, and then it looks awful. They also soak up so much more glue or whatever you're using, which is just wasteful and messy. A good brush gives you way more control for tricky spots like corners and hinges. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather pick out a stray hair than deal with a bumpy, uneven finish from a roller.