cleaning a glue gun Posted by tsu on Nov 04, 2008
Hi guys,

I was confused where to put this thread in, but finally thought it's still related to the building process, so...
OK, a question is maybe quite strange but... how do you usually clean your glue gun? I mean, do you dismantle it and clean the melting chamber by removing glue leftovers as well?

My glue gun has rapidly stopped working and I don't know why - maybe the melting chamber is blocked with glue... (but that would be strange because yesterday was the first day I used it - maybe there is a necessity to clean it day by day?). Or maybe my stick was too wide - I was using 11mm sticks so far (my glue gun is 11mm in diameter) and today I went to Castorama and bought 11,2mm. Of course, before I did it I asked the staff for their advice if it's possible to use 11,2mm to 11m glue gun (there were no 11mm sticks at all) and they told me "yes".
 
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by DansPuppets on Nov 04, 2008
Sounds odd to me. It shouldnt be blocking after a day of using it. Hot glue guns do occasionally overheat, but all there is for it is to switch it off to cool & start again. It could be faulty......
Re: cleaning a glue gun (problem) Posted by tsu on Nov 04, 2008
...or those sticks caused the problem, I don't know, I'm confused a bit.
Everything was OK a moment before, I was gluing the foam, put a gun on a side for a while and after a few minutes gun didn't work. I waited couple of minutes, for reheating and... nothing. I checked my new stick, this 11,2mm in diameter, and it was melted just a bit. So in conclusion - after my old one (11mm) was gone and that new started to be used by a gun, a gun has stopped itself working.

btw - what do you usually use to clean a gun? I mean a nozzle e.g.?
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by puppetbubba on Nov 04, 2008
I just pull the dried glue off.  If there is hair (fur) stuck to it I do the same.  I had a new glue gun stop working. Turned out the new stick was no longer being grabbed and pushing the other stick down so there was no pressure and nothing new for the gun to melt. 

Took it back and got a new one that works great.  Not sure why else a gun wouldn't work.  Can you take it back?
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by Billy D. Fuller on Nov 04, 2008
Puppet bubba is right sometimes the tip will just get clogged with hardened glue. just peel off and stick a piece of wire in the opening while glue gun is unplugged.


Billy D.
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by miguel on Nov 04, 2008
From my experience. I bough this cheaper glue gun, and started to used (Everything was working fine), and then started to used a glue stick of different (No much difference of thick, but longer than before), and I think I enforce the glue gun, because all of sudden the gun exploited!
I had to buy a better one (More money, but work better). Now I care no hair or fur stick on it, and another thing no different size.

An advice, don't use the glue gun to put together foam (Just if is really necessary, like mouth plate, etc.) And everytime you finish doing something with the gun, disconnect it.

Miguel!
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by StiqPuppet Productions on Nov 04, 2008
I have never cleaned a glue gun and would not want to.  If you have to clean a glue gun daily or even weekly you might as well throw it out in the garbage it isn't worth the work.

Daryl H

Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by puppetlady on Nov 04, 2008
I'd agree with Stiqman.  Here in the states, you can get a glue gun cheap, so I'd replace mine if it gave me that much grief.  Wish you lived nearby tsu, I have a few spare ones.
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by Jorge on Nov 05, 2008
I have never cleaned my guns (I have two, in two different thickness) and sometimes from one use to the next several months can pass. I bouhgt them in a Spanish version of one dollar shop, you can be sure they are not high level !
 
Check if it gets hot. Different glues can have different melting points. The problem could be there. But if the gun does not get hot, I would think in a electrical problem.
Re: cleaning a glue gun Posted by tsu on Nov 05, 2008
Thanks for all your replies guys!

There a miracle has happened , hehe. I dismantled the nozzle, rummaged a little in it, and turned a gun on once again, waited it to reheat and tadam! it works now.
But anyway, I went to Castorama today (after I went mushroom picking :D) and bought a glue thinner. Just for a nozzle and its nut, hope it works.

@Miguel - why shouldn't I use a glue gun for putting foam together? It's very comfortable...

@Pam - here in Poland, glue guns aren't somehow particularly expensive, so if my gun wouldn't work anymore there was no problem to buy another one. But if I lived next to you, I wouldn't deny to receive one of your spare ones, of course. 

Iza
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