Melting hot glue

CarolineTyler

Legendary member
Not sure if this is the right place for this. if not please move.
I needed to remove some hot glue and disassemble a foam board wing. I found my heat stick (gun) can melt hot glue just fine and I was able to fix the problem with little difficulty.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LN6J9MB/?tag=lstir-20

Note to self: 3D printed parts will melt too!
Isopropyl alcohol (I think it's referred to as denatured alcohol in the US) will often allow hot glue to lose its adhesion.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Isopropyl alcohol (I think it's referred to as denatured alcohol in the US) will often allow hot glue to lose its adhesion.

That's true, but if you're trying to disassemble and reassemble a foamboard plane, it is not ideal. The alcohol will be absorbed by the paper and foam, and it will basically trash the foamboard. I've used it successfully to clean off parts (such as motor mounts and control horns, as well as my workspace), but it usually needs a little bit of time soaking/penetrating the area where the glue has attached itself before it will release.