I’ve a basic loctite hot glue gun and various glue sticks but the stuff seems to solidify so quickly that if you run a bead of any length it’s gone hard before you can join 2 pieces together. Can anyone in the know advise about this …is it likely the gun doesn’t get it hot enough to stay liquid for long or do I need different glue sticks?
Finally if anyone can recommend a decent gun and glue make it would be appreciated.

obvious question really – but are you using your hot glue in the cold? If you’re using it in a cold environment or applying the glue to cold surfaces obviously its not going to stay hot for very long

Finally if anyone can recommend a decent gun and glue make it would be appreciated.

depends a great deal on what you’re using it for

This is a general problem I’ve found with glue guns at school.
Ok for dabbing/dotting and joining, but laying a long line will mean it’s started to cool by the time you join the bits.

I tend to only recommend the kids use them for quick and dirty modelling.

A quick drying PVA (something like Titebond) is almost always better.

Or a quick curing epoxy for non-absorbent materials.

Or the magic that is mitre-bond…it’s great! 2 part superglue, with a spray hardener.

Yes, they go off very quickly, especially in cold weather.
They’re only really good for little spot sticks. You have to be quick.
You can’t really do a long thin bead and expect it to stay fluid I’m afraid.

Ok for dabbing/dotting and joining, but laying a long line will mean it’s started to cool by the time you join the bits.

The best way to use a glue gun in those circumstances is as a way of holding things in place while another glue dries – ie run a line of PVA or similar with gaps – put dots of hot glue in the gaps and let the hot glue hold things while everything set

Or the magic that is mitre-bond…it’s great! 2 part superglue, with a spray hardener.

I use mitre bond in a similar way – a quick hold for more generous slather of a stronger, more durable glue like Titebond

The best way to use a glue gun in those circumstances is as a way of holding things in place while another glue dries – ie run a line of PVA or similar with gaps – put dots of hot glue in the gaps and let the hot glue hold things while everything set

Maybe, but I’d always try to avoid using a glue gun as the least best option in most cases.
The fact the glue isn’t absorbed, just acts like a sticky ‘sandwich filling’ (if you get what I mean?) so you’ll always have a slight gap.
PVA + clamps = 20 times better.
Pressure on the area always gives a better join.

Yeah, PVA isn’t ‘gap filling’ as such, whereas hot melt is, or even creates a gap, unless you use it a bit like brazing.
The gap created by hot melt will mean the PVA isn’t likely to achieve a proper bond.

Mitre bond is really handy. I’d avoid it for precision though as you need to assemble and hold very quickly.

Agree with what others have said but also

– the glue starts melting before the maximum temperature, so don’t start using it immediately it’s liquid.

– it can help to apply a thicker bead than you need, just to keep it hot longer, and squeeze out the excess.

– when it’s cold, warming the surfaces first with hair drier or paint stripper gun gives you more time.

But also as said, it’s not the best glue. The only thing I’ve found it ideal for is fixing buckles onto webbing – thread the webbing through and glue it back onto itself. Particularly useful for attaching straps to fixed objects where sewing would be awkward, or if it’s experimental as you can warm it with a hairdryer and pull it apart.

I found the best use of a glue gun was leave it in the cupboard. For the occasional useful dab I have a lighter and a stick in my pocket.

The useful thing about glue guns is that the glue sets super quickly. That’s why they’re ace in schools.

It’s kind of the point!

You can use a glue gun to apply a bead then re-melt it with a heat gun to stick the two halves.

Good idea GF …I’ve seen people stick down carpet grippers with guns before but didn’t pay much attention .Thanks for all the contributions.

The useful thing about glue guns is that the glue sets super quickly. That’s why they’re ace in schools.

It’s kind of the point

Primary school or art class maybe.
Less so in DT or carpentry/woodwork.

Ok for card modelling ideas for product design, but I’d strangle any kid who used it for an actual wood joint or finished piece of work.

Good idea GF …I’ve seen people stick down carpet grippers with guns before but didn’t pay much attention .Thanks for all the contributions.

If that’s what you’re doing, then the fitters who did ours last year used some sort of quick drying black adhesive in a tube like silicone sealant comes in. Applied in the same way with a sealant gun.

PVA + clamps = 20 times better.

Broadly speaking – if you have clamps and the thing you’re gluing can be clamped then do that. A glue gun is handy for shapes/materials/circumstances where you can’t go that. They’re generally a good tool for temporarily defying gravity or making up for the fact that you only have two hands and need things to stay put while something better sets.

that’s why I was asking what’s actually be glued. If it’s sea shells onto sugar paper then that’s not a job for clamps

or if it’s experimental as you can warm it with a hairdryer and pull it apart.

Actually a good way to unstick hot glued joints is to chill it rather than warm it- it goes hard /brittle when you give it a blast with something like pipe spray and things can just be cracked apart and the glue comes off cleanly

They’re only really good for little spot sticks. You have to be quick.
You can’t really do a long thin bead and expect it to stay fluid I’m afraid.

Not true, but I think the hot glue guns being discussed are the little ones sold for crafting.
I worked for a time at a company that creates point-of-sale items using Foamex board or corrugated cardboard, the latter most often used for ‘dump bins’, the things you see in places like Currys/PCWorld with a load of small end-of-line items dumped in to sell off cheap. Those bins are stamped out of corrugated sheet with creases put in, and you run a length of hot glue all along one edge, about a metre, then grab the other edge, fold the edge tab in, put the two edges together and press and hold for a few seconds.
The risks involved are cutting your hands and arms on the razor-sharp cut edges, and brushing your hand or arm against the hot glue – my arms looked like I was a self-harm victim, from all the cuts, and I had blisters the size of my thumbnail from the hot glue guns, which are about a foot long, and use glue sticks about eighteen inches long, and a centimetre or so in diameter.
These are serious industrial guns, and the glue melts at a pretty high temperature, and stays liquid for thirty seconds or more – I never timed it, I was in too much of a hurry to produce them quickly, but those burns bloody hurt! The stuff is like boiling jam, it sticks so really does blister quickly.
I’ve got one of the guns, I don’t use it often, but it’s a very effective tool, for larger jobs; the little ones are only for sticking card and decorations on small items.

The ones I used are very similar to this one, 120-140W, 12mm glue stick.

Not true, but I think the hot glue guns being discussed are the little ones sold for crafting.

So true then 🙂