What is Heat Gun and Its Uses?

What is Heat Gun?

A heat gun is a handy, hand-held multi-utility tool used to heat and melt different substances and materials. You will usually find this tool being used in heavy industries including automobiles, construction, and mostly by professionals. The reason behind this is that if not handled with care, a heat gun can be potentially dangerous to those using them.

>>>>> How To Use A Heat Gun For Shrink Wrap

While today’s article deals with surprising and unknown ways to use a heat gun, its most basic use is to make sure you emit enough hot air to soften and melt substances. It can then be scraped off and utilized in other places. You need to know a lot about a heat gun before you can start using it! Safety precautions are therefore vital!

Are there different types of heat guns?

There are also different types of heat guns available. The kind that you choose to utilize will depend entirely on the kind of power options you want and what power source is more convenient for you. You can choose between gas or electric models.

>>>> How to Use a Heat Gun to Remove Glue?

Of course as with all other cool gadgets nowadays, more users are shifting towards electric models primarily because they are better for the environment. On the other hand, electric models will limit you as you will only be able to work as far as the cord can take you.

Electric models are also not the best for remote and field jobs! On the other hand, you have gas-powered heat guns that provide you much more power than electric models. They are cordless unlike their electric counterparts and thus much better for mobility.

However, you will have to purchase gas repeatedly to make it work. Electric models are also safer. Today’s article is going to discuss what is heat gun and its uses! We will look over its main uses in the coming paragraphs!

What are the Uses of a Heat Gun?

The most common uses for heat guns are generally going to be to get rid of wallpaper and paint or to heat and mold plastic materials. They are also vital in melting and removing the adhesive glue that can be present on windows, walls, and other surfaces.

Mostly, you’ll find heat guns being used in industries, for example, for shrink wrapping purposes. However, that’s not all you can rely on your heat gun to solve! There are some incredible and lesser-known uses of a heat gun that you might be interested to learn about!

We are going to list these uses in today’s article of what is heat gun and its uses!

1. To get rid of wallpaper

Are you tired of utilizing chemical cleaners and steamers to get rid of your wallpaper? If yes, then the easiest way is to use a heat gun! Chemicals can be harmful to your health and your walls as well. So, why not ditch them and opt for hot air instead?

Chemical methods to remove wallpaper can also be harmful because if they come in contact with any lead or other metal, they can release harmful fumes. We certainly don’t want that! Heat guns are remarkably useful at removing wall linings such as wallpaper.

How they work is simple! You just heat the wallpaper and this will cause the adhesive glue to melt off. The wallpaper will easily slide right off as you can peel it with complete ease!

The recommendation is to utilize the heat gun using the lowest heat setting first. Then, you can slowly increase the heat so that the adhesive melts off and the wallpaper can be removed.

2. To wrap your car

Of course, it is recommended to take your car to a professional for any wrapping jobs. However, if you want to save money and have a heat gun at home, you might not have to spend a lot of money! We recommend using this process, particularly for vinyl car wraps.

Using a heat gun with safety precautions of course means that your job will cost less, you’ll be able to complete it faster at home and you can easily re-do the job whenever you want/. Just take the heat gun out and you’re good!

3. To remove tint from car windows

If you want the insides of your car to be completely obscured from view, then you might want to tint the windows of your car. Wondering why it is useful? Well, with tinted windows, you won’t have to deal with people peering into your car. You will also get complete protection from UV rays.

However, there are disadvantages to this as well! Or, you might just want to remove the old to add a new tint. When your tint starts bubbling up or is discolored, you might want to remove the tint. A good way to know when to remove your window tint is about 2-years. However, if there is damage, you will need to do it as soon as possible.

All you need to do is buy a heat gun and slowly heat the outside of the window. Then, peel the tint from inside once it is warm enough! Spritz and wipe with a window cleaner and you are good to go!

4. To defrost your freezer

In colder weather, you might have to deal with a freezer that has frozen up. The build-up of ice can ruin your freezer and also reduce its effectiveness. The overproduction of ice can also put pressure on the compressor of the freezer which is something you’ll want to avoid.

Therefore, the most effective method to defrost a freezer will be to utilize a heat gun. You might also want to opt for a heat gun because if you just leave your freezer plugged off to thaw, it can spoil your food. You will need a place to store the items from your freezer but by the time you’re done, they could all be ruined.

With heat guns, you won’t have to deal with this issue! They work faster and blow insane amounts of heat at your freezer to melt the ice quicker. Our recommendation is to keep the heat gun moving all over the frozen parts but never leave it set in one place for too long. The heat could melt away the ice and harm the freezer itself.

5. To strip paint

One of the most common reasons to buy a heat gun is to effectively strip paint. Since it can effectively melt and soften the paint on various surfaces, many users prefer this over other methods, especially in the home.

The most interesting thing is that heat guns or hot air guns are marketed specifically to remove paint. That’s why they have become so closely attached to this job and why most consumers will end up purchasing them as well.

These tools can be used to remove paint from several surfaces including metal, wood, stone, concrete, and more! If you need to renew a paint job, the easiest way to remove the layers is by using a heat gun.

The main reason why most people will end up using this method to remove paint is that the process is free of chemicals. You won’t have to put your health at risk and can get the job done quickly.

6. To thaw out pipes

The final special use of a heat gun can be to thaw out pipes that have become frozen. In certain parts of the world, it can get unbelievably cold. Cold enough, that the water freezes in your pipes! Of course, this is problematic because the pipes can get damaged but also because you won’t have running water.

So, what is the solution to get the water flowing again? Invest in a decent heat gun to heat the pipes so that you can melt the water within. Make sure you don’t hold the heat gun in one area for too long as this can damage your pipes. Keep away from the joints of the pipes but go along the entire area that’s exposed to the cold.

>>>>> How to Use a Heat Gun to Remove Paint?

Make sure that you do no accidentally heat areas that can catch on fire. This might include wood or foam. We recommend the use of a reflector nozzle on top of the heat gun as this can guarantee equal heat distribution.
With that, we are after our detailed guide on what is a heat gun and its uses? As we have seen, a heat gun offers plenty of benefits apart from simply being an industrial tool. If used with proper precautions and in the right way, you will see the possibilities become endless! Hopefully, our ideas for today inspire you to use your heat gun in clever ways!