A hot glue gun is an important tool for hobbyists and professionals alike. It permits you to apply melted glue that can bind to virtually any material. Its adhesive works on plastic, wood, paper, metal, cloth, stone, you name it! While glue guns were initially used for bonding shoe soles, their versatility has made them a preferred tool for DIY projects, dwelling improvement, upholstery work and humanities & crafts.
In this article I will train you easy methods to get the perfect results from your hot glue gun, and explain find out how to use it safely. I will also show which glue sticks are finest to make use of, in an effort to create long lasting bonds on almost any objects and materials.
What is a glue gun?
A hot glue gun is a handheld machine that lets you melt and apply hot melt adhesive. This adhesive comes within the form of strong sticks and is also simply known as hot glue. The sticks are fed in by way of the back of the glue gun, whereas the melted glue comes out through the nozzle in the front.
The advantage of hot glue guns is that they are simple to make use of and that they let you create robust bonds between many different materials, particularly when used with the fitting type of glue stick.
There are a few essential steps and safety measures you have to keep in mind however. This article will clarify them to you.
What is hot glue?
Hot glue is the adhesive that gets melted in a glue gun. It’s 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.
Essentially the most commonly used form of hot glue (for us DIY folk at least) is glue sticks. But hot melt adhesives additionally come in other forms, like ones you could apply by spraying or dipping. Dipping in a hot glue dipping pot is a technique that is regularly 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 allows you to keep working on your projects without having to wait a long time for glue to dry. Consequently, using a glue gun is very time efficient.
Hot glue also has a high viscosity. Because of this, it does an incredible job filling gaps and bonding tough surfaces together.
Another big advantage of hot glue is that it has an extended shelf life. I am sure you are familiar with tubes of glue drying out by themselves. With hot glue sticks, this is not an issue.
In case you store glue sticks in a clean, dry place, at room temperature and outside of sunlight, you possibly can basically store them indefinitely.
Additional advantages of hot glue are:
There is no such thing as a lack of thickness when it cures.
Hot glue weapons are affordable because they’re such easy devices.
It works well with coloration additives. You may even use colored glue sticks. These are nice for crafting or for matching the color of the glue to the colour of the thing that you just apply it to.
There may be little to no waste.
It does not comprise risky natural compounds (VOCs) which are harmful to your health.
It will possibly often be disposed of without having to take additional environmental precautions.