Hey guys,

I am going to paint some balsa wood, to seal it, using PVA and a lot of people recommend watering down the PVA glue to make it brush on better/smoother and I was just wondering what ratio of water to PVA you guys usually use when mixing it up?

Thanks in advance

To seal it, you'd be best of using 2 thirds PVA and one third water. Normal ratio (equal parts) isn't the best for sealing.

Oo, thanks for the tip. I'd sealed my foam 1:1 but wasnt having the best of time with my balsa wood either! Will deffo do the higher ratio.

cheers

Actually it depends on the PVA. XD;; For example Wilkinson sells several different types, one they just call PVA and looks like it's for school craft work, and another that calls itself PVA wood glue. The "wood" version is much thicker and the bottle tells you how much water to add if you want to use it for sealing. The "school" version doesn't mention that at all.

I tend to variate the ratio depending on what I'm doing.

For gluing down, I use it neat or in the case of Papier Maché a 1:1 ratio (helps it dry a lot faster).

For sealing (especially on anything like craft foam) a 2:1 ratio (2 parts pva to 1 part water).

Thanks very much everyone for the tips. Hoping to buy some PVA tomorrow night from B&Q so I'll let you know how I get on over the weekend.

Thanks all!!

Another question about the PVA, how many coats do you guys usually do?

Two thin layers for me