Asked on Feb 09, 2016

Anybody put crayons in a glue gun?

Linda kilmurray
by Linda kilmurray
I read this on here, what would it be used for?
  7 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Feb 09, 2016
    creative art pictures, colorful seals for envelopes, scrapbooking. Tons of ideas.
  • Sherry Tomsett Sherry Tomsett on Feb 09, 2016
    I am not sure I would do this unless the heat gun is very low heat. The Crayons will melt at a far less temperature than a glue stick, and will melt before you can push them out. I would use a holder for the crayon ( to keep hands out of burning area, and use a heat gun.
  • Darla Darla on Feb 09, 2016
    Encaustic (wax) painting
  • MN Mom MN Mom on Feb 09, 2016
    Crayons will melt faster than a glue stick. I can't think of why I'd use a glue gun to melt crayons.
  • 117135 117135 on Feb 11, 2016
    I put crayons into my glue gun to make a dripped crayon art on canvas. It did not work out as I envisioned. The crayons are a bit thicker than a glue stick and I had a very hard time feeding them through the glue gun. If you try it, I would shave down the thickness of the crayons before placing in the glue gun. I also got a lot of splatter instead of drips.
  • Will Haryson Will Haryson on Apr 13, 2020

    My wife with kids tried this once. It was interesting experience and they made a sort of art on the wood. They used to use old glue gun, so this work was not so clear. Now they use Bosh glue gun (look here https://www.bestadvisers.co.uk/glue-guns) and it's really good

  • Kate Garrett Kate Garrett on Apr 13, 2020

    Wax drip art can be a messy project under the best circumstances. Please use caution, because there are also safety hazards with the glue gun method.


    Crayons are actually flammible. Working with a heat gun is safer. But, once the paper is removed, a low temp glue gun shouldn't reach the kindling point.


    Use a glue gun designed for fat/chunky sticks. With the exception of restaurant crayons, they are usually thicker than a standard glue stick. Alternatively, you can make the crayons thinner by coloring with the sides until they wear down or by trimming with a hot knife. This is actually a good project for broken crayons.


    Because the wax retains heat more than glue sticks, it can get hotter under the steady heat of a glue gun than the extruded glue would. If you need to apply pressure behind a stuck crayon, try using something other than your bare fingers to avoid burning yourself. Another crayon, a glue stick, a golf pencil, etc.


    Colored wax can be hard to clean out of a glue gun after the project. Either use an old glue gun that you plan to keep just for this or run about half a glue stick through as waste before letting it cool down. That is actually a good use for broken or other partial glue sticks.