We are making hand made tubes, cones 12 gram pr. (m2) and have had problems find the correct glue. What can we use?

An adhesive for light weight paper can be made with polyvinyl alcohol and boric acid. In some cases, users add clay to this type of adhesive to increase solids and speed drying. The clay can also limit the absorption of the adhesive by the paper.

Adhesive without clay:

  • For each gallon of cool water, adjust the pH to about 4.5 with any acid while stirring. Continuing to stir, add 400 grams (0.9 lbs) of Elvanol® 71-30 polyvinyl alcohol and 28 grams (one ounce by weight) of boric acid.
  • When the boric acid is fully dissolved, heat the polyvinyl alcohol slurry with stirring to 90 C (about 195 F) and hold it at that temperature for 30 minutes to make sure all the polyvinyl alcohol has dissolved. The adhesive can be used immediately or allowed to cool. If faster cooling is desired, leave some of the water out of the recipe and add it as cool water at the end.
  • If clay is desired, simply add between one and two pounds of dry clay to the above formula before cooking the polyvinyl alcohol. Allow the clay to completely mix in the slurry before heating.