Your guide to hot air guns

A hot air gun is a versatile tool that can assist in a wide variety of tasks where a direct source of intense heat is required. Their ability to melt, flake, shrink, bend or even weld together material is convenient in many different circumstances and diverse tasks.

What does a hot air gun do?

By emitting a jet of extremely hot air, a hot air gun can be used to shrink, melt or weld different types of material. The main advantages of using a hot air gun are that the heat can be focused on a very specific area and that they can reach very high temperatures. They can also be complemented with nozzles for particular applications.

What should I think about before purchasing a hot air gun? 

Quite simply, the type of job defines the choice of heat gun. Before buying, think carefully about the tasks you’ll need to tackle. If the task or material requires a precise temperature then you need a hot air gun with good possibilities to regulate the temperature. Multiple temperature settings will give more accurate temperatures, which will assist you to produce a better result with reduced risk of damaging the material.

Hot air guns come in different power levels, displayed in watt. So what the difference between high power and a lower power? High power level allows you to work faster, as the power impacts the combination of high airflow and high temperature, so you can work more efficiently over larger areas. A low powered heat gun might reach same temperature but has a lower airflow meaning it takes longer to cover the same working area.

What are some of the hot air gun application areas?

Hot air guns are suitable for a wide diversity of jobs. Common applications include paint removal, defrost, moulding and shrinking plastic pipes, loosening bolts, de-soldering and automobile and body repairs.

A heat gun is also great for drying paint, small electronic repairs, vinyl or leather repairs, melting wax, stripping paint, removing tiles, car wrapping or lighting the BBQ.