A hot glue gun is a crucial tool for hobbyists and professionals alike. It enables you to apply melted glue that may bind to virtually any material. Its adhesive works on plastic, wood, paper, zakarian01 metal, fabric, stone, you name it! While glue guns have been initially used for bonding shoe soles, their versatility has made them a preferred tool for DIY projects, home improvement, upholstery work and humanities & crafts.
In this article I will teach you easy methods to get one of the best results from your hot glue gun, and clarify how one can use it safely. I will additionally show which glue sticks are greatest to make use of, with the intention to create lengthy lasting bonds on almost any objects and materials.
What is a glue gun?
A hot glue gun is a handheld machine that allows you to melt and apply hot melt adhesive. This adhesive comes in the form of solid sticks and can also be simply known as hot glue. The sticks are fed in by the back of the glue gun, whereas the melted glue comes out via the nozzle within the front.
The advantage of hot glue weapons is that they’re straightforward to make use of and that they let you create robust bonds between many alternative supplies, particularly when used with the suitable type of glue stick.
There are a number of vital steps and safety measures you have to keep in mind however. This article will explain them to you.
What’s hot glue?
Hot glue is the adhesive that gets melted in a glue gun. It is also referred to as hot melt adhesive or thermoplastic adhesive. When it comes out of the nozzle it has a tacky, slightly sticky feel to it. After it cools down, it solidifies.
Probably the most commonly used form of hot glue (for us DIY folk a minimum of) is glue sticks. However hot melt adhesives also are available in different forms, like ones that you could apply by spraying or dipping. Dipping in a hot glue dipping pot is a technique that is incessantly used for flower arrangements and other floristry.
Benefits of hot glue
Hot glue has several benefits compared to different adhesives. For example, it dries fast. This permits you to keep working in your projects without having to wait a long time for glue to dry. As a result, utilizing a glue gun is very time efficient.
Hot glue additionally has a high viscosity. In consequence, it does a fantastic job filling gaps and bonding rough surfaces together.
One other big advantage of hot glue is that it has a protracted shelf life. I’m sure you might be familiar with tubes of glue drying out by themselves. With hot glue sticks, this is just not an issue.
If you happen to store glue sticks in a clean, dry place, at room temperature and outside of sunlight, you’ll be able to basically store them indefinitely.
Additional advantages of hot glue are:
There isn’t any loss of thickness when it cures.
Hot glue guns are affordable because they are such simple devices.
It works well with colour additives. You’ll be able to even use colored glue sticks. These are great for crafting or for matching the color of the glue to the colour of the article that you just apply it to.
There is little to no waste.
It doesn’t include risky natural compounds (VOCs) that are dangerous to your health.
It will probably usually be disposed of without having to take additional environmental precautions.