Notes on EVA glue

Similar to PVA, but different

The first difference you will notice on using EVA glue is that it is very runny. This will be unattractive to most people. I urge you to try some, and to take precautions to cope with the spills. They will happen. Make sure a damp cloth and plenty of waste paper is handy.

The picture, below, is not posed. I was just too slow to put the lid on the spout of the glue pot! The mess started with one or two drops. By the time I had decided to take a picture another half-dozen blobs had dribbled out. I hope the message for users is clear! (Holding the pot upright would have been helpful...grrr...)

Unintentional EVA glue dribbles
EVA glue dribbles from an badly lidded glue pot ~ careless ~ messy. ~
It could have been a major disaster ~
easily mopped with a wet cloth at this stage ~ very difficult later

A colleague to whom I showed this fairly 'new' adhesive, took one look, and equated 'runny' with 'weak'. It is not weak, but does take a few moments longer than normal to start to set. I would suggest ~ from my own experience ~ that you try putting this greatly enhanced liquidity of EVA to the test against PVA.

EVA is very easy to spread. It has a useful grab [103548] after a fairly short time. Both these properties enable it to have some advantages over PVA ~ for some users. Some PVA formulations can dry too quickly to be of use when covering a large area. I have found that in many uses EVA is as easy to use as paste. This is handy if you do not have a pot of paste handy. As with PVA it can be mixed with water-based paste.

I find that EVA is just as sticky as PVA, although it does need longer to reach its first stage of setting. Careful craftworkers allow for this, because they are patient. Set one job aside and progress another one. This grippy stickiness is particularly noticeable on the glue pot. Normally glue that dries on plastic can easily be chipped away. EVA tends to cling like a limpet, and this is noticeable when trying to remove the cap. (Reminder ~ clean everything with a water wipe before closing down for the day ~ or even before lunch ~ or more often.) I also find that a thin film of EVA sticks invisibly to the skin, and remains unnoticed ~ resisting peeling until after several hand washings.

The runniness makes glue-pot use very easy. I favour that, although pot storage upside down is dribbly-dangerous. I hesitate to say is for expert use ~ instead I will setle for you need some experience using it. This means you also need some patience mastering the dribbles, or at any rate making sure they do not fall on precious items

As with PVA I do not trust any claim for 'washable'. Whilst both PVA and EVA readily mix with water I am afraid that once dry ~ or even part dry ~ there is little hope of removing it. I splashed a tiny drop onto doeskin trousers. It still shows as a small soup stain....another pair of trousers enrolled for 'work-only-use'.

The runniness of EVA means it is very easy to 'brush-out' in use ~ I find a credit card works well. I suspect it has greater stickability to some hostile surfaces ~ plasticky ones ~ than has PVA. Certainly it seems to cling tenaciously to the plastic of my glue spouts ~ I have a note and some tips on cleaning spouts. Also it is extremely tenacious once it has dried on my cutting mat ~ lesson learned ~ mop it up whilst it is still wet and runny!

Removing EVA and paper fibres stuck to a cutting mat
Removing EVA and paper fibres stuck to a cutting mat

Finally, and quite without any evidence, nothing more than hunch, I think it is more flexible and stronger than most of the PVAs available. That is terrifically useful when booklets are made with fan binding.

It may be difficult to buy it, and I doubt if it is available in hobby shops. We plan to sell it, in suitable glue pots, in our shop on the sister site ~ busybusy.shop ~ and will provide a link when it is available.



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