Hot glue: what it is, application features

Hot glue is a solid material that softens to a gelatinous state when exposed to high temperatures. To work with such a composition, a special pistol is used.

Thermal glue is produced in the form of solid polymer rods. The material is called hot for the reason that it acquires adhesive and sealing properties only after heating at a certain temperature. When heated, part of the rod melts and looks like a viscous dense mass. After hardening, the glue regains a solid structure. The composition cools down in a matter of seconds.

Such a composition is convenient to use for needlework and decoration. However, the use of this adhesive is not limited to the creation of various crafts - the hot mix perfectly adheres a variety of materials and can be used for repair and construction work.

Hot glue sticks are available in various modifications, which differ in some properties, technical characteristics and appearance. A common feature of all varieties of this material is the ability to quickly and firmly bond most types of surfaces together. The effect of using warm glue can be compared to using welding.

Below are the main benefits of warm glue:

• Firmly bonds various materials together. Tearing apart the glued parts is quite problematic.
• The heated liquid glue dries in a few seconds, returning to its previous solid state, reliably holding the materials together.
• Negative environmental factors do not affect the adhesive composition and do not change its technical characteristics. The product is not afraid of low and high temperatures, direct sunlight and moisture.
• Low cost. In addition, you can choose the most suitable rod size, since the tubes differ in length and diameter, which allows you not to overpay for an extra volume of material that is not required for repair work.

Despite the significant advantages of hot melt glue, the material also has its drawbacks. The disadvantages of such an adhesive composition include the following positions:

• Hot glue can bond different types of surfaces together. However, there are some limitations: the adhesive is not used for concrete and plastered substrates, as well as for some types of fabrics and PVC products.
• Since hot melt glue has a rather high melting point, it is necessary to work with such material extremely carefully.

Today there are many varieties of warm glue. First of all, solid rods differ in size and mass: most often you can find tubes with a diameter of 7 and 11 mm, and the length of the material can be from 4 to 20 cm.

The next important difference is the color of the material. On the construction market, you can find the following options for glue sticks:

• Translucent tube white. This type of composition is considered universal for all materials.The product is used both for domestic needs and in the field of professional construction.
• Opaque tube white. In this form, adhesive mixtures for universal use and a special modification for bonding glass are produced.
• Opaque rods in different colors. This option is convenient to use for gluing colored things so that the glue seam does not differ from the color of the material. The hot glue has a wide range of colors.

• Transparent tubes with a yellowish tint. This type of warm glue is used to bond wood, cardboard or paper.
• Tubes in black or gray. This modification is not used for gluing various items. In this case, the hot melt glue will act as a joint sealant. Also, such a composition is used to insulate electrical conductors.

The correct composition must be selected in accordance with the type of material to be glued, as well as taking into account the characteristics of the glue gun.

The choice of suitable glue sticks will primarily depend on the type of surface to which the composition will be applied and on the general purpose of the work. The same factors should be considered when choosing a glue gun. It is important to pay attention to such characteristics of the adhesive composition as the color of the rod, the melting point, the degree of viscosity and the purpose.

As you know, rods are produced with a diameter of 7 and 11 mm. Small diameter tubes are suitable for creating various crafts, jewelry, decorative elements, as well as for making soft toys by hand. For installation and construction work, rods with a diameter of 11 mm are required.

To work with hot glue, a special device is required. The simplest glue gun is relatively inexpensive. However, if necessary, you can make an analogue of such a device at home. This is especially true if you urgently need to glue any materials, and the suitable equipment was not at hand.

A device for melting glue sticks can be made from a conventional boiler. In addition to him, the following devices will be required:

• Teflon tape or other material with similar properties;
• can;
• copper wire;
• a small block of wood.

The handle for the future device must be made of a piece of wood. For this, the distance from the beginning of the tube to the spiral is measured, the measurement is transferred to the bar. Two pieces of the appropriate size are cut out of the wood and a small hole for the pipe is cut in the middle.

A handle is formed from two parts of the bar. The heating tube must be wrapped with Teflon tape, after which the handle can be attached to it. The bars are connected with ordinary electrical tape.

From a piece of a tin can, you need to make a tube in which the glue sticks will melt. The tin must be cut into two pieces 9 cm wide and 16 cm long. A tube is made from one piece, which should correspond in diameter to the glue stick. To do this, you can wrap the glue product with a tin sheet.

A small piece 5 cm wide and 8 cm long is cut out from the second part of the tin piece. A cone with an open nose is formed from the resulting canvas, from which the glue will flow. Both parts of the tin blanks are interconnected and inserted into the hole between the coil of the boiler. The tin tube is attached to the spiral with copper wire. After completing all the steps, you can use the device.

For how to make hot glue with your own hands, see the next video.

Applying hot glue at home is easy.To work with such material, you must purchase a special glue gun. The principle of working with such a device is quite simple:

• The rod must be placed in a special hole located at the back of the device.
• The gun is connected to a 220 volt power supply using a cord. However, some types of devices can operate on battery power.
• In order for the rod to start melting, you need to wait some time. The waiting time can be from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of hot glue.
• To apply liquid hot glue to the surface, you must pull the trigger on the device. In the front of the pistol there is a special hole from which a viscous mass will flow.

Despite the fact that almost anyone can work with a glue gun with ease, there is a high probability of getting burns if you handle the equipment carelessly.

1. Care must be taken to ensure that the device does not overheat the glue stick, otherwise the viscous mass may leak out of the gun body and cause injury if it comes into contact with the skin of the hands.
2. Do not leave the equipment turned on if you do not need to use it at a given time to apply glue.
3. When it is necessary to replace a refill of one color with another, it is important to thoroughly clean the gun tube of the remaining adhesive mass. To do this, it is recommended to connect the device to the mains, heat it up for a few minutes and, by pressing the trigger, squeeze out all the remaining hot glue.