I caught my book cloth shrinking 3 days after gluing it down

Made a run of 12 journals last week and used a new batch of starch paste. By day 3 the cloth had pulled away from the boards by a solid 1/8 inch on every single one. Has anyone else seen fast shrinkage with specific paste recipes or is this just my bad luck?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby4501mo ago

Oh man, that's rough! I had the same thing happen with a batch of wheat paste that was a little too thin. Turned out I wasn't letting the glue dry long enough between layers. Once I switched to a thicker mix and let each coat set fully before adding the next, the shrinkage stopped completely. Did your paste feel runny when you applied it?

ruby_patel271mo ago

Ugh, that's such a drag! Did you try leaving them under weights overnight?

murphy.blair1mo ago

Four layers is usually the sweet spot for me on wheat paste posters. @ruby_patel27, too thin of a mix will shrink like crazy no matter what you do. Letting each layer dry completely before adding the next one is a must, even if it takes hours. If you rush it the whole thing warps and looks terrible. I learned that one the hard way after wasting a whole batch of nice paper.