Best adhesive for collage

[David Stafford]

A friend asks: What's the best adhesive for magazine collage that won't wrinkle the paper? I told him Spray Mount...anybody have any other suggestions?

[John Gayer]

Sure Kosmo. I did a quick online search and came across this file, which seems to provide a good short overview: Wheat Starch Paste - Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) -  the link to the article is: http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1439925170645

[Kosmo Vinyl]

Cheers John, I've bookmarked that on my laptop and I'm definitely going to give it a go at some point. Evidently a wheat paste adhesive will only last for a week, so thats a mark against, but the only ne thus far.

[Azzaro]

There seems to be good glue sticks and bad glue sticks. I found Amos (Korea) glue sticks seem to have a strong bond, whereas Bic brand (China) seems easy to work with but very weak bond. Just purchased a Pritt stick (Germany), but not trialled it yet. Pritt boasts 'non-toxic' - so does that mean others may be toxic? It also states from 90% renewable materials, and washes out at 30*C. Longevity of all glue sticks is uncertain. 

[Ptrzia (TICTAC)]

rice glue...perfect for book binding, collages and other paper projects. good for very thin papers too.

there is also a rice paste you can buy. some people homemake both paste or glue,  you can google the recipe.

i use it for thin papers. but most of the time i use glue sticks.

[Gü]

Depending on the job, I use glue stick, matt medium or spray. (I've fashioned a big box with clear plastic on top when spraying glue, dangerous stuff to inhale) No matter which glue I always use a brayer for smoothing and a firmer hold. Many good tips here, thanks all.

[Kosmo Vinyl]

 I once used a roller on a collage and it took some of the xeroxed card I had used. Couldn't agree more about spray mount being dangerous, in my teens I used to watch a graphic artist pal work and when the light was just so  you could see the glue floating in the air around him !

[Ptrzia (TICTAC)]

Gü, that's a good trick, the box. i use a dust mask if i have to spray glue.

[Kosmo Vinyl]

Sorry that should read "took some of the image off of the xeroxed card".

[John Gayer]

About the use of a roller/brayer... it can help to place something between the art work and the roller. I can, for example, easily get silicone treated paper (not sure if it's impregnated or coated with silicon), which doesn't normally stick to most materials. It's found in the baking section of food stores. It can also be used if you need to apply weight to something while the glue is drying. Just put the silicone (baking paper) between the art work and the books or other objects you will be using as weights. For extra support stick a smooth sheet of another material between the silicone paper and the weight - something like a sturdy piece of Plexiglass or a board that will help the weight be more evenly distributed. An artwork could also be clamped between 2 sheets of silicone paper and 2 boards. It method can be varied depending on what you have available, the size of the project etc. Taking the time to do some tests first, gives one an idea of the potential result.

[Kosmo Vinyl]

Thanks John, someone else had suggested wax paper to place between weight and collage too.

[John Gayer]

I should mention that in addition to the silicone paper's non-stick properties it can take a fare amount of heat. It's typically placed in or on baking pans to turn them into non-stick utensils. That means it could be used to flatten something or activate a heat-set adhesive with a clothes iron for example - preferably on lower heat settings. The issue came up in conversation with another artist once when we were talking about various ways of manipulating painted surfaces.

[Heidi Moonlight]

Liquid glue-water mix.