The use of a heat gun with CA

[Jerry944t]

I use CA for most of my finishing. I hate the smell and violence of the accelerating spray.

About 20 years ago I made radio controlled planes. To cover them we used a type of mylar (Monocoat) that, when heated, would shrink the covering to the balsa wood airplane frame.

So I had an ahha moment and unearthed my heat gun. I discovered that it does a wonderful job of setting CA. Much more controllable than the spray and I never run out. I also never get clouding.

Heat guns are available at any hardware or big box store and are inexpensive. Usually they have two settings, with the lower setting more than adequate. You can buy a heat gun for the price of a couple of bottles of spray.

Thought I'd share my experiences and see if anyone had a negative thought about the process.

 

[raar25]

Can you give some more specifics. Distance, how long, rpm, CA it works best with etc?

 

[1080Wayne]

I will try that . Thanks for the idea .

 

[yorkie]

Yeah, more specifics, please! Also, can you take a picture of you doing it with the heat gun in view. I know it sounds like a lot to ask but I use CA exclusively and hate the smell of accelerant.

However, I use the PSI accelerant exclusively and never have clouding issues.

 

[Charlie_W]

Great idea!
A couple things to watch out for. You don't want to blow dust into your wet CA.
Blow out the heat gun with compressed air and when you turn on the heat Gun, have it pointed in another direction to send any dust away before pointing at the wet blank.
Of course, you would want to clean the lathe area so you don't kick up any dust or cause any shavings to ignite.

You might want to check out Jonathon's "Flamed CA " satin finish!

 

[reddwil]

Jonathon Brooks has a good youtube video on using a flame/torch method that works great.

Flame Finish on CA - YouTube

 

[Jerry944t]

The distance from the heat gun depends on how fast I want the reaction to take place and the thickness of the CA. Obviously you don't want the wood to get too hot, just warm to the touch.

I'm using about 1800 RPMs, same as I turn.

Never had a problem with dust on the work since I blow the piece off with the gun before I apply any finish.

I just wave the gun back and forth while the lathe is turning as if I was spray painting.

remember I'm doing this with a small heat gun designed for a different application. I can't give any specifics with a household heat gun but the principle is the same.

It's really easy and as quick as you'd want.

A picture wouldn't be much help because the distances vary and I'm using a gun that isn't readily available. I just happened to have it on hand.

Give it a try. The initial investment isn't much and you'll never have to buy accelerant again.

As for a fire hazard I guess if you held the heat gun still and close to the work it might eventually smolder. I haven't had that issue. Most heat guns have 2 settings. I use low. It's plenty hot enough.

 

[Jolly Red]

I have tried this with other finishes, and found out if you hold the heat gun too close to the finish, it acts as a paint stripper. This is good as you have to strip the finish off if you do this, thus saving time.