12 Glue Gun Tips, Tricks and Hacks You May Not Have Heard About

Do you feel a sense of joy when you can successfully glue things together? If yes, then glue gun is your bundle of joy.

Fundamentally used as a hot melt adhesive, glue gun is nothing less than a miracle that can create amazing crafty things, as well as resolve small struggles of life. From fixing fashion faux pas, mending broken cables to making cute glue coasters and glue bowls, glue gun can do it all!

If you have one lying around in your home, read on to make the most out of your glue gun with these 12 glue gun tips, tricks and hacks you may not have heard about.

Note: Glue guns are pretty hot to work with, no pun intended. The temperature of a gun varies, with a maximum of over 300 degrees and a minimum of 170 degrees. Therefore, glue guns should be used carefully and kept away from children when they are plugged in.

Method 1: Slip Free Hanger

Nothing can be more frustrating than clothes constantly falling off from hangers, especially when you have wide-neck shirts.  But there is a quick solution to this. Just put a few glue beads on both the ends of the hanger and your anti-slip hangers are ready!

Things you’ll need:

• Glue gun
• Hangers

Single-Step Method: Put glue beads on the hanger

• Heat up your glue gun for 10 minutes.
• Place 3 to 4 glue beads on both the edges of your hangers.
• Let the glue dry off completely.

Method 2: Resize a Ring

While tight rings often get stuck on your fingers, loose ones refuse to stay put. But now, you don’t need to fret if you accidentally bought a bigger size ring. A drop of glue will resize your ring instantly.

Things you’ll need:

• Glue gun
• Scissors
• Loose ring

Step 1. Make a blob of glue and push the ring into it

• Put a blob of glue on a flat surface. Make sure to do it on a surface from which you can peel off the glue easily. You can also do it on a parchment or wax paper.
• While the glue is still hot and mushy, push the ring into the blob with some part of the glue covering the inside of the ring.

Step 2. Peel off the glue and chop off the outer edges

• Once the glue has dried, pry it off the surface and chop off the outer glue.
• You ring is now re-sized. This hack is temporary. You can remove the glue whenever you want.

Method 3: Give Your Doormat a Grip

Shifty and slippery rugs can be really annoying and sometimes dangerous too. But this problem can easily be resolved with some glue. Oh, it just rhymed!

Single-Step Method: Apply glue on the underside of the doormat

• Turn over your doormat.
• Make big lines or patterns with the glue gun, covering the entire area of the doormat.
• Let the glue dry off completely.
• Flip it back and place the doormat at your door. That’s it!

Method 4: Makeup Brush Cleaning Board

Do you struggle to keep your makeup brushes clean? Using dirty makeup brushes can easily make your face prone to acne. Read on this easy DIY to make your own brush cleaning board and simplify the upkeep of your makeup brushes.

Things you’ll need:

• Plastic clipboard
• Glue gun

Step 1. Make different textures on the clipboard and let it dry

• Use your glue gun to make different patterns on the clipboard such as big and small dots, lines, spirals, and zigzags.
• Allow the glue to dry completely.

Step 2. Wipe your brushes against the board under running water

• Place the clipboard in the sink under warm running water.
• Squeeze out some shampoo over the board.
• Swirl the brush around against the textures you just made.
• Keep whirling the brush until the water runs clear, and there is no soap residue.

Method 5: Prevent Mold Build-up inside Bath Toys

Bath toys are the perfect breeding ground for mold and bacteria unless cleaned regularly. You certainly don’t want pathogens accompanying your kids while they are having a gala time in their bath. Don’t worry! There is a quick fix to this tiny problem—glue gun.

Things you’ll need:

• Glue gun
• Bath toy

Single-Step Method: Plug the hole on the bath toy with glue gun

• Clean the toy first by soaking it in diluted white vinegar overnight. Rinse thoroughly with water and let the toy air dry.
• Put a small drop of glue over the hole of the toy and let it dry completely. Your baby’s bath toy will now stay mold-free.

Method 6: Make Shoes Slip-free

Slick floors are a girl’s worst nightmare. No matter how chic they look, walking on them with high heels is not a cakewalk. But not anymore! You can strut around with ease by making your shoes slip-free with hot glue.

Single-Step Method: Apply glue on the soles of your shoes

• Turn over your shoe and make some glue lines on the sole. You can go creative here by drawing shapes or writing names. All work the same way.
• Let the glue dry completely.

Method 7: Enamel Dots for Decoration

Are you a manicure monster? If yes, then you probably have scores of nail polish lying around. With a little hot glue, you can put them to good use and make your own enamel dots to embellish holiday greetings or decorate bowls or boxes.

Things you’ll need:

• Nail polish
• Glue gun

Step 1. Make little glue dots on a flat surface

• Use a glue gun to make small glue dots on a flat surface.
• Once dry, pry them off the surface.

Step 2. Color the drops with nail paint

• Color the back side of the drops with bright nail polish.
• Let the paint dry completely.
• Decorate a bowl by applying some glue on the rim.
• Stick the enamel dots on the bowl and let them dry completely.
• You can also use the enamel dots as floating decorations.

Method 8: DIY Basket

Bored sitting at home? Grab a glue gun and a glass bowl and read on to learn how to make a neat hot glue bowl. You can use it to keep sewing supplies, accessories, or miscellaneous things that you keep misplacing.

Things you’ll need:

• Glue gun
• Glass bowl

Step 1. Make glue circles around the bowl

• Start by smearing the bowl with some oil (any oil) to avoid the glue sticking too firmly on the bowl.
• Place a big dollop of glue at the base of the bowl.
• Make circles around the drop as shown above.
• Continue making the circles until you have covered the entire bowl.

Step 2. Connect the circles with diagonal lines

• Draw diagonal lines across the bowl to connect the circles, just like a spider web.
• Allow the glue to dry completely.

Step 3. Peel the glue off the base bowl

• Scrape the edge with your nails and then gently peel the glue off the bowl.
• Your glue bowl is ready to use.
• You can either spray paint the bowl or leave it as is.

Method 9: DIY Wooden Coaster

Apart from protecting your fancy furniture from moisture and spills, coasters can also accessorize your coffee table. Here is a quick DIY on making coasters with craft sticks using a hot glue gun.

Step 1. Glue 4 craft sticks together to make the frame of a coaster

• Start by sticking 4 craft sticks together, as shown in the images above, to create the basic frame of the coaster.
• Make multiple frames to complete a coaster set.
• Let the frames dry completely.

Step 2. Cover the coaster frames with more craft sticks

• One by one, start gluing the craft sticks snugly on top of the coaster frames.
• Once the glue has dried, flip the coaster and repeat the same process for the other side as well. Let it dry too.
• Chop of any excess glue from the sides using a knife.
• Paint the DIY wooden coasters with bright colors and bold patterns to make them presentable.

Method 10: Clean Glue Gun Easily

There are so many clever hacks you can use a glue gun for. But the same cool DIYs can leave your glue gun in a hot mess. Give your glue gun a quick cleanup using just one thing—aluminum foil.

Things you’ll need:

• Glue gun
• Aluminum foil

Step 1. Ball up a large piece of aluminum foil

• Cut out a large piece of aluminum foil from the roll.
• Crumple it into a ball-like shape.

Step 2. Rub the foil ball against the glue gun nozzle

• Heat up your glue gun and rub the aluminum foil ball against the tip/nozzle of your glue gun. Do act with caution as the hot glue gun can burn your hands. Make sure that the foil is thick enough.
• Continue rubbing for a few seconds and you’ll end up with a clean glue gun just like that.

Method 11: Fix Broken Cable

Has your phone cable started to fray around the base of the jack? You are not the only one. A simple tweak using a pen spring and glue gun will mend your cable in no time. The spring will add flexibility to the cable and also prevent the wire from further wear and tear.

Things you’ll need:

• Broken cable
• Pen spring
• Glue gun

Step 1. Coil the pen spring around the broken cable

• Coil the spring over the frayed part of the cable. You will need to apply a little force to stretch and loop the spring.

Step 2. Seal the spring on the cable with the glue gun

• Apply glue all over the spring to hold its place and to create a layer of insulation over the broken cable.
• Let the glue dry off completely.

Congrats on saving a couple of bucks that you would have spent otherwise on buying a new cable.

Method 12: Make Instant Hot Glue Stick

Make yourself some instant hot glue sticks using matchsticks and fix anything on the go with these portable hot glue sticks.

Things you’ll need:

• Matchsticks
• Glue gun

Single-Step Method: Apply some glue on the matches

• Apply a drop of glue just below the head of the matchstick. Do this on a couple of matches.
• Allow the glue to dry by keeping the matchsticks on a wax paper or parchment paper.
• Once dry, store these portable glue matches in the matchbox and label the box too.

Tips

• Glue gun can also help you reuse old plastic bottles in fun ways.
• Allow your glue gun to heat up for 10 minutes before using it.
• While you are working with a glue gun, keep a bowl of chilled water near you to dip your fingers in it if you accidentally touch the hot tip.
• If you have applied glue on the wrong object, wait for it to dry and then try to remove it. You can also pop the object in the freezer to dry the glue quickly.
• When trying to glue flat surfaces together, score the surface lightly with a filer to create tiny ridges.
• If planning to buy a glue gun, opt for one that has temperature control and are spring-fed gun as they are easy to handle and use.
• Use a low-heat setting for delicate materials.