To Tape or not to Tape

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

For a $50 item, is it really worth it to spend $18 on archival tape? If you can research the shelf life of a roll of the stuff and it appears to last a long time, then maybe. The thing to ask yourself is how many times do you think you're going to find yourself in this situation?

After nearly 40 years, I have only needed to repair tears maybe twice that I can recall. I used Elmer's. The result was OK, but definitely could have used a bit more practice.

I suggest gathering a sampling of various cardboard stock and tearing it apart in as many ways as you can come up with. Devote a bit of time to teaching yourself the craft. I think the best advice is that you can never be too sparing with the Elmer's, as you can always try again with a little more. Too much can just make a mess, and it is sometimes amazing how little of it can qualify as "too much"!

But regarding the Elmer's, I would definitely only want to use this on lesser-valued items where it just doesn't make financial sense to buy specialty tape or glue, let alone outsourcing to a conservator.

I roll a Q-tip in the glue to load the cotton with the glue. Then I apply it by rolling the Q-tip down both edges being put together. Anyway that is what works for me so I don't make a complete mess with way too much glue.