Searching For solvent for PVA glue

Create a Post
J

JWB9999999

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Posts
1,841
Loc
Meridian, MS
Ok, I made a mistake. I had the worst case of food poisoning in my life last week and was out for days. Just before that, I had started some repair work on a customer frame. The frame was broken in shipment, and I used normal wood glue and some clamps to strengthen the cracked area of the frame. Thing is, as I was out sick, I was not able to remove the excess glue from the surface of the frame before it well and truely set and hardened. The frame has a smooth surface, not ornate. But there is a thin layer of glue smeared all over it.

Any suggestions for removing the glue? It's just Cornerwelld, a white PVA glue. I tried goo-gone, but that didn't really work. Should I try wetting the area with a water and a papertowel? I can't scrape at the glue really, as I fear damaging the finish of the frame.

Thanks,
John
 
Spit applied with your finger. Give it a few seconds to sit an use the finger to loosen it. You may need to repeat several times but it works on CW after a month or more of hardening.
 
Jeff, the technical term is "natural enzymes" :). Seriously, ask any conservator!

I agree with Jeff. Patience is a virtue. Let it work and don't be hasty. CW will soften and should remove without damaging the finish.
 
Thanks. A little spit, a little water, a little paper towel, and a little fingernail, and I got almost all of it off this afternoon. :)
 
I've found that both the PVAs and hide glue will pop off of finished surfaces if you can get a tool (chisel, knife, etc. ) under the glue blobs, carefully, of course. Also, since I can refinish stuff, if a little of the finish comes off, I don't care, so you might want to use Rob and Jeff's approach first.
 
My conservator once worked for Windsor and Newton in London and, among other projects once set out to find a solvent which would enable them to delaminate paper which had been stuck down using P.V.A.

They discovered that once the glue had hardened properly the only solvent which would dissolve it was boiling hydrochloric acid which was interesting from a research point of view but useless for practical purposes.
 
I de-gunked my underpinner the other day (not before time). :o I tend to be a bit over-generous with glue and it was getting very encrusted.
It's amazing just how well it sticks to metal. Most just flakes off with a knife, but there were some globs that I had to sand off. Of course sanding creates microscopic scratches on the metal which means that any further stray glue will get a better grip.....

On frame finishes you can't do that, but gilded finishes generally have a hard lacquer protective coating that virtually nothing will stick to. So while the glue make appear to be well stuck it's only really clinging on and can be flaked off with very careful use of a pointy tool. If its porous, forget it.
 
Create a Post
Back
Top