Glue gun vs cold glue for fusing glass and porcelain?

Brig
by Brig

So, I am creating these flowers and mushrooms using old glass and ceramic plates and bowls. So far, I used Gorilla glue out of the bottle by first using a bit of water to moist bot parts I want to glue together. It worked, but is quite a process and I never get all the glue out of the bottle because they don't close well.

Now, I purchased a dual temp glue gun. I never used one before and I wonder:

do I still need the water?

do I still add glue onto both parts?

do I use hot or not so hot settings?

do I need lesser glue?


I appreciate your advice icon

  9 answers
  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Apr 25, 2020

    If you are placing these outdoors, I would recommend using E6000 glue as it will hold up to the elements. My concern about a glue gun would be first, if it will hold up under sunlight/high heat and second, if it would become brittle and dry out.

    • Brig Brig on Apr 25, 2020

      Thank you kindly for taking the time to respond.

      I have made 25 flowers so far and used just Gorilla Glue.

      All of them hold great in the elements - though I advise people to take them in during stormy weather.

      I have Gorilla Glue sticks for the glue gun.

      My question is not what glue to use.

      I am new to glue guns and wanted to know if I have to handle the process differently, because it comes out hot.

      do I still need the water?

      do I still add glue onto both parts?

      do I use hot or not so hot settings?

      do I need lesser glue?

      These are my questions. Thank you :)


  • Cheryl A Cheryl A on Apr 25, 2020

    glue guns don't usually hold up as long as the E6000 type glues -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajJl31p0kkg

  • Janice Janice on Apr 25, 2020

    I'm also a fan of E-6000 glue. I've found that often glue gun glue, especially on very hard surface materials can be "popped" right off. Depending on the weight of your flower layers, glue gun may not be the best choice.

  • Lynnette Peigowski Coley Lynnette Peigowski Coley on Apr 25, 2020

    You would not use water with a glue gun and applying to one side only. Glue guns can be low temp, high temp or duel temp. The low temp cools off faster and does not allow as much working time. The hot glue tends to be stringy and you can get burnt on it if not careful. Keep in mind also that on your finished project the glue is affected by heat and cold. Hope this is helpful.

    • Brig Brig on Apr 25, 2020

      Gratitude for your time and answer. That was helpful and I will use what I have learned and try it out tomorrow.

      Happy weekend

  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Apr 26, 2020

    I apologize if I left out details that may help you decide. I've used low and high temp glue sticks as well as E6000 from a tube. I've found that both temps of glue stick can easily form "strings" as well as being able to burn you. I generally keep the glue gun for smaller crafts, particularly where I might have to remove something because comparatively speaking, things glued with a glue gun can be "popped off" without much trouble.


    I am a "touchy-feely" kind of person and use my bare hands all the time for most everything I do. Inevitably, I do get burned using my glue gun lol!


    I also agree with Janice that weightier things become more problematic using a glue gun. The glue sticks you purchase dictate whether they are high heat or low. Generally a higher melt point makes a stronger bond. It takes longer to cool thereby offering a bit more work time but overall you don't want to toy with anything you've used a glue gun on as it will make more strings.


    • No, you do not use water with a glue gun.
    • No, you do not put glue on both surfaces.
    • Again, the heat setting is dictated by the type of glue stick - the packaging will tell you if it's high or low heat.
    • When the glue melts, it begins coming out of the glue gun. When you're ready to affix the surfaces, squeeze the trigger while moving the glue gun along - it's pretty much like using a caulking gun as far as squeezing/moving at the same time. That will dictate the amount of glue that is applied. In your case, you'll probably squiggle some around the underside of the plate. You can practice making a glue gun "line" on scrap materials.
  • Brig Brig on Apr 30, 2020

     Thank you to all - I LOVE working with my new glue gun

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Apr 30, 2020

    I would use e 600 for all outside work

  • Michelle Leslie Michelle Leslie on Jul 05, 2020

    Hi Brig, I love using a web site called "This to That" - https://www.thistothat.com/ to figure out what the best glue is for projects. You just need to enter the two things you want to glue together and they'll tell what to use.

  • Deb K Deb K on Dec 19, 2020

    Hi Brig, the water was for the chemical reaction on the gorilla glue, you will need the surface of the plates to be clean and dry for the glue gun. Best of luck