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Just ran out before finishing some basing, and I wondered, isn't this PVS glue the same stuff that my kids take to school each year? It sure smells, feels, and looks the same. Thought I might save myself an overpriced order and having to wait a week to finish.

School glue I think is a no

All purpose though should be similar I think?

Then what is PVA glue, it feels, looks, smells, and dries just like Elmer's Glue, the orange tip classic.

I've always used PVA for basing... I always though Elmer's was nothing more than expensive PVA.

Elmer's is ONE maker of the product known simply by its three-letter chemical acronym (PVA).

(They also make Krazy glueand x-acto hobby knives, btw).

Regular PVA by another maker is often cheaper and does the same job.
PVA is known as "white glue" and the yellow "carpenter's glue" or PVA glue (I don't know why Americans use the yellow tint in theirs, since it dries clear with no trace of tint anyway)>

I thought it was PVA based, but had other additives.

Or wood glue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate

Chances are, your kids are taking PVA to school. The ubiquitous Elmer's Glue-All (the classic orange cap) is PVA and it's what I've always used for basing, among other things. I think kenshin620's confusion stems from the fact that some companies have marketed crappy translucent gel adhesives as "school glue."

Elmers is PVA but there are different qualities of PVA out there. Likely the stuff you get in massive cheap tubes isn't as good, but if you're sticking flock to a base rather than putting pieces of wood together it doesn't matter.

When I was young we had this glue that was just like Pritt Stick but was bright purple and smelt of marzipan.

Howard A Treesong wrote:
When I was young we had this glue that was just like Pritt Stick but was bright purple and smelt of marzipan.

MMmmmm... arsenic... aarglhglhglhglh

Aleenes Tacky Glue is IMO the best PVA glue around and you get alot for a few bucks. It's got a very strong hold, but can be watered down easily for things like basing.

EDIT: It's about $4 for 16 fl oz of Aleenes at Wal Mart.

for basing you can use the same glue even kindergartens use... or wood glue... both are way cheaper then buying PVA glue from a modeling line

*cough*
I tend to use Aquadhere brand PVA, but it really doesn't matter. I buy a jug of it for a few bucks, and it lasts for years.
http://selleys.com.au/adhesives/household-adhesive/specialist-adhesive/aquadhere-interior

I always tend to use white wood glue for bases as its just something I always have around. For scenery and tables id go buy tubs of unibond pva

Flinty wrote:

Howard A Treesong wrote:
When I was young we had this glue that was just like Pritt Stick but was bright purple and smelt of marzipan.

MMmmmm... arsenic... aarglhglhglhglh

It's cyanide which smells of almonds. Arsenic does not really smell or taste of anything, which is why it was a favoured poison despite being very slow.

OT: It's cheaper to get the big value jugs of PVA from homeware stores and then decant into a used jar (or a plastic squeezy bottle, like mine is ).

There are different versions of "white glue". I've used standrad "elmer's glue" for gluing stuff to bases for years and it works well.

But, if I need some better holding power yet I need to glue to dry clear (like with clear plastic part) I like using a product called "canopy glue" from the LHS (it's usually located in the RC section). It bonds plastic to plastic very well. Much better bond that standard "elmer's glue".