Editing Wheatpaste (section)

== Uses ==
[[File:Smear Wheatpaste 2005.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A poster adhered by wheat paste]]
A common use is to make chains of paper rings, often from colored [[construction paper]]. It can also be used to create [[papier-mâché]]. In the [[Fine art|fine arts]], wheat starch paste is often used in preparation and presentation. A good wheat starch paste has a strength compatible with many paper artifacts, remains reversible over time, is neither too acidic or alkaline, and is white.{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}}

[[Activism|Activists]] and various [[subculture]] proponents often use this adhesive to [[flyposting|flypost]] [[propaganda]] and artwork. It has also commonly been used by commercial bill posters since the nineteenth century. In particular, it was widely used by nineteenth and twentieth century [[circus]] bill posters, who developed a substantial culture around paste manufacture and postering campaigns.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Darlington|first=Edgar B. P|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2478|title=The Circus Boys on the Plains; Or, The Young Advance Agents Ahead of the Show|year=1911|language=en}}</ref>  In the field of [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and [[nightclub]] advertising, in the 1890s, [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]]'s posters were so popular that instructions were published on how to peel down the pasted posters without damage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E6D8123BF935A25752C0A9669C8B63|title=Posters Weren't the Half of Him|work=[[New York Times Book Review]]|date=16 January 2000|access-date=11 July 2006}}</ref>

Until the 1970s, commercial poster hangers always "cooked" their own paste, but since then many have bought pre-cooked instant pastes.<ref>{{cite journal|date=May 1995|title=Ethical Considerations for the Conservation of Circus Posters|url=https://cool.culturalheritage.org/waac/wn/wn17/wn17-2/wn17-205.html|volume=17|issue=2|access-date=11 July 2006|journal=WAAC Newsletter}}</ref> It is applied to the backside of paper then placed on flat surfaces, particularly concrete and metal as it does not adhere well to wood or plastic. Cheap, rough paper such as [[newsprint]], works well, as it can be briefly dipped in the mixture to saturate the fibres.

When [[Flyposting|hanging unauthorized billboards or signage]], to reduce the danger of being caught, wheatpasters frequently work in teams or [[affinity group]]s. In the United States and Canada, this process is typically called "wheatpasting" or "poster bombing", even when using commercial wallpaper paste instead of traditional wheat paste. In the United Kingdom, commercial wheatpasting is called [[flyposting]] and wheatpasting associated with [[urban art]] is called [[paste up]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}