How to choose high-quality PVA glue and use it correctly?

Ease of use, reliability, affordable price - all these properties make PVA glue one of the most popular substances in the world. Clay is considered universal, it will come in handy while studying at school, and in the process of repairing an apartment. What is this remedy?

What are PVA made of?

The history of glue dates back a century. It was invented in 1912 in Germany. A few years later it began to be released for commercial purposes. Today, its production exceeds one million tons. The name stands for polyvinyl acetate glue. It is this substance, polyvinyl acetate, that is active. It is obtained from a special synthetic fiber based on polyvinyl alcohol - vinalon. It makes up 95% of the product. In addition, various additives are included in the composition, which increase the ductility, stability, and adhesion strength.

Specifications

PVA glue is appreciated for its technical characteristics and ease of use with the composition.

• The glue line is highly ductile. Bends can be made on paper that was glued with PVA, while many of the tools used to glue various surfaces crystallize, and when you try to bend the sheet, they break.
• High adhesive ability, according to GOST - 450 N / m. PVA for a long time competes with more expensive means.
• The glue contains no toxic substances, so even children can use it. If there is no negative reaction to the skin, the product just needs to be washed off.
• PVA does not burn and does not explode, no matter what they do to it.
• The tool can be dissolved in organic acids. If it is completely frozen, then it is impossible to make it suitable for use: it has lost its adhesive properties.
• A thin layer of the substance is invisible to the eye, so crafts made using PVA look very neat.
• It is not recommended to use the product if the humidity in the room is more than 80%.
• The time required for complete drying is a day.
• Frost resistance - at least 4 cycles.
• The average storage time is six months.

Varieties

PVA glue has remarkable qualities that have created a positive reputation for it. But when using it, you need to remember that there are different types of this tool. For example, clerical glue will not take wood. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the planned work and buy the appropriate version of the product.

• Household (wallpaper). Designed to work with paper and paper wallpaper that needs to be glued to a particular surface - plastered, wood, cement. It is white in which yellowness may be present. If the remedy is old, then yellow becomes more pronounced. The smell is not sharp. If, when you click on the tube, only a certain amount of yellow or transparent liquid is poured, then the product has lost its quality. The packaging should be discarded.
• Clerical. It is used to glue paper and cardboard. It has a fairly liquid consistency, white or beige color. It is characterized by low resistance to moisture and frost.
• Universal (MB). Viscous substance of white color, sometimes with a yellowish tinge. It adheres well to slippery surfaces. Most often it is used when working with paper, glass, leather. Its technical characteristics allow even some floor and wall coverings to be glued.
• Super M Its use makes sense if there is a need to glue vapor-permeable materials, maintaining a high quality of the seam, and there are no special requirements for gluing technology. This type of PVA can be used when installing flooring and ceramic tiles. With it, you can combine fabric, leather, glass, porcelain. The product is frost-resistant.
• D3. Effective when working with wood and plywood.
• Building. It is rarely used in its pure form, except for gluing certain types of wallpaper. More often it is added to mortars for bricklaying and some other materials in order to improve their quality.

Important!

It is worth knowing that frost resistance is not characteristic of the substance itself, but of the adhesive joint. PVA glue is made on a water basis, so in the cold it just freezes. After thawing, it can no longer be used, since it loses its qualities. Therefore, in the cold season, it makes sense to work indoors.

How to dilute?

If the product is thickened, then you can dilute it with water, pouring it a little and constantly stirring, so that the mass turns out to be homogeneous. But this applies only to household and office glue, while water resistance is partially lost. But for “Super M” and universal glue it’s worth taking an organic solvent.

PVA construction emulsion will not lose its qualities when diluted with water. To prepare the primer, it is bred with twice as much water. The surface is treated with a solution to increase adhesion.

Application how much dries

Working with PVA is quite simple. The instruction will tell you what glues this or that type of product, how to use it. The use of wallpaper glue or D3 for wooden surfaces may vary slightly. Often problems happen when working with paper surfaces. You need to remember a simple rule: the substance is applied to the surface that absorbs it more slowly, that is, less porous.

Tip

If the product is applied to thin wallpaper, then one layer is enough. For dense materials, two are needed.

When the glue needs to be applied pointwise, use a special nozzle. If it is not, then a syringe without a needle or an ordinary pipette is suitable. They will be useful more than once, only after application it is necessary to wash them thoroughly with water. If the application surface is large, then you need to take a roller, brush or sponge. Apply the substance, starting from the center and gradually moving to the edges. You need to act quickly, because on paper the drying speed is faster than on wood and other surfaces.

To get rid of air bubbles, you can attach a sheet of paper to the surface and through it to smooth out irregularities with a roller or just by hand. Whenever possible, it is recommended to withstand glued things under a press for reliability. It is worth paying attention that when gluing paper it is better to take the so-called "archival" PVA glue. It is acid-free, so that after a few years the paper does not turn yellow.

PVA glue usually dries naturally in a day. But sometimes the question arises, how to quickly dry a product made with it. In such cases, heat must be used. For example, put a thing near the battery or blow a hairdryer on it. You can even put it in the microwave, but only if there are no metal parts.

PVA for wallpaper

If it comes to wallpapering, then the surface must be prepared in advance. It must be washed to get rid of dirt and dust. Before applying the substance, it must dry, the composition is not applied to a damp wall. Smooth walls are putty, and rough ones are primed.

It is necessary to study the instructions on the package to find out whether it is necessary to dilute the product. For plywood and chipboard, it is usually used in pure form. The substance is applied to the wallpaper with a brush or roller, then attached to the walls and smoothed with a dry cloth.

So, PVA is a waterproof and frost-resistant glue, which, thanks to its qualities, has received worldwide recognition.Although the decoding of its name is not known to everyone, very many have used it, because the tool is widely used in various fields.