Make your own color hot glue sticks!

8/10/2011

Due to the high readership of this post it will remain posted for one more week. Thanks to all for the interest and great comments...Ken
Hot glue guns and hot melt adhesives are a part of most homeowners, hackers, and craft folk’s arsenal. Generally speaking, they are an effective way to bond a variety of surfaces. But what happens when you want some color other than clear or amber? Well, you can buy color glue sticks with a limited range of color at a high price, or follow this project and make virtually any color as needed. The slideshow is intended as a guideline for making a limited number of hot glue sticks at one time. It is not intended as a method for mass production.

Domestic hot glue adhesives are all over the map in composition, open time, tack, viscosity, and bond strength. Many are based on ethylene-vinyl acetate with added modifiers. The two sizes most easily acquired are 11 mm, (7/16"), (.43”), and 7mm, (9/32"), (.28”) diameters. The standard length is 4”. For this demonstration I am using standard “Surebonder All Purpose Glue Sticks”, 11mm, the most commonly available size. But, there is the opportunity for experimentation with all of these hot glue adhesives. The key to this process is the Reynold's parchment paper which is coated on both sides with silicone. It is food safe and performs up to 420 Fahrenheit. It is a great release agent for hot glue.
CAUTION: Hot glues guns operate at close to 400 Fahrenheit and can cause burns. This project is not for children, but for responsible, safety conscious adults. There is more surface area when heating in an open container and more fumes as well. Due to the unknown composition of hot glue adhesives it would be advisable to do this project in a well ventilated area.
Parts and pieces:

Brass tube 12 inches long, 17/32" diameter, .014 wall thickness. K&S Engineering Stock# 140 . Available at Ace and True Value hardware as well as others. K&S home here:
Reynold's Parchment Baking Paper. Others may work but this is the one that I used.
Silicone spray (Optional but helpful to protect tube exterior and other surfaces from unwanted hot glue adhesion.
Standard hot glue sticks for melting.
Color crayons. I used Crayola.
Disposable metal container for melting and mixing hot glue. I used a tuna can fashioned with a pouring spout.

Tips and tricks:
If there is difficulty with pouring, make a silicone funnel as shown. You can also make a cardboard funnel with a parchment paper insert if no silicone funnels are available. Silicone seems to be the best material for release properties. You can also add up to 10% by weight of paraffin wax to reduce the viscosity without sacrificing bond strength. Preheating the tube while heating the glue/color can buy you a little more pour time. Let filled tube cool about 20 to 30 minutes and disassemble. Parchment paper can be reused many times.
Before cutting the tube, wrap a glue stick in the parchment paper and push it beyond where you will make the cut. This will reduce the depression made by the tubing cutter.
There may be some variability in the tubing ID so making the parchment paper longer will decrease the finished stick diameter.
As in any additive color system, white crayon can be added to lighten the color.
Good luck and let me know if I can improve the process. Thanks, Ken...

36 Comments

Zech

12/06/2012 08:47

The wax in the crayon doesn't gunk up the glue gun?

Ken

12/06/2012 09:12

No Zech, Hot glue already has wax as one of its ingredients. As indicated in the writeup, the additional wax does not change the bond strength even up to 10%. Ken

Chris P

11/23/2013 08:42

So, I've improved the technique a bit.

I take a coffee can, fill it with a plaster of paris solution. Insert about 20 glue sticks into the mold until only a about 1/2 inch sticks out of the top.

Allow to set. Remove glue sticks. Bake to drive off moisture.
Melt glue sticks adding whatever colors desired.

You can grease the mold to help release if you like.

Pour into mold. I let the excess form a cap.

Let cool. Pull sticks from mold. Cut off cap.

val link

02/04/2013 16:03

hey, can u put a pic of the final product finished and in use??!

Ken

02/05/2013 09:31

Good idea Val,
I edited the post and added the two photos made today. The first shows the glue gun loaded with the orange stick and the second in use. The round blob in the rear is the material flushed out from clear to orange. Hope that this helps and thanks for the comment. Ken.

mourmourq

03/15/2013 18:33

hi
i did it all
but cant have my all new purple stick from the tube
have you any idea to help me????????????????????
p.s: i have pictures to show if you want
thank you!

Ken

03/16/2013 08:11

If I understand you correctly, the glue stick is not releasing from the tube. If the tube is lined correctly with the parchment paper there should be no problem as the parchment paper has a silicone coating that acts as a release agent. However, the hot glue will stick to any surface not protected with the parchment paper. If I have misunderstood the problem send another comment reply and explain before sending photos. Good luck!

moourmourq

03/16/2013 18:47

yes you did understand very well !
thank you and excuse my very poor english...
i used a 22cm(instead of 10cm you gave) cupper tube (i cant find a brass)
i only curled once around the stick wirh the paper(3 cm perimeter) you said 19 cm ,maybe it's this the problem
but i had problem to enter the paper into the tube .
from next week i'll try with a 10cm tube and a 19 length paper
and i 'll let you know
thank you very very much for your post
iit is very helpfull and very easy (photos, directions,measurements)
to follow
perfect
thanks aigain.............

Ken

03/17/2013 08:39

Well done as you have identified both of the problems. The length 10 cm is important as any added length increases the friction during removal. It is possible to chill the finished assembly in the refrigerator to cause the hot glue to shrink in size. The parchment paper is less important as long as it completely lines the tube. And the copper is fine; in fact any tube material will work as long as it is heat tolerant. Again, well done! Ken.

mourmourq

03/19/2013 23:22

hi again!
finaly i did it!
with 10cm tube
but at the end i had problem to remove the paper from the stick
it was stuck.................
i scratched with hard sponge and hot water
now its ok
thank you very much

Olivia

04/07/2013 22:11

I gave Home Depot a shot and couldn't find the brass tube but picked up a copper tube of a similar size. Hopefully it works out okay. But I did have a question... you seem to melt a lot of glue sticks with the crayon but only come out with one when all is said and done? Am I misunderstanding?

Ken

04/08/2013 08:29

Hi Olivia,
Yes, it is an optical illusion. In fact, I may have made two pours and photographed only the second pour. But, you bring up a good point; due to the viscosity, it is difficult to get all of the hot glue out. That is why I use separate containers for each color. The copper tube will work just as well and if the diameter is too large the difference can be made up by using a little more parchment paper. Thanks for the comment, Ken

Stephen Fitton link

04/08/2013 02:16

I was looking for the answer how to turn basic glue sticks into color as I needed to make a button die for some aluminium extrusions I had fabricated. To cover holes drilled.
Simple die will be made by drilling 2x matched aluminium plates with 4x Holes outside edge Guide pins fitted Plates drilled depth of button width of holes, Separated and a larger drill drilled into holes partly drilled into second, plate Drilled 1/8 th inch with oversized (Drill making head). When assembled. fill with colored hot glue stick. Seperate plates/test and increase hole size if shrinkage too much.
Use your normal non stick spray to prevent failures.

Christy

05/21/2013 14:23

This was great, thank you!
The glue I like is not available in the mini size - but the glue gun I like is a mini! So I used your method to transform standard sticks to mini-size. After clogging my brass tube I started using only rolled up parchment paper propped up in an old spice jar. Works a treat! Lastly, I use the standard sized glue gun to squirt the hot glue into the mold so no need for stove-top melting or funnels in my case :) Thanks again for sharing!
Thank you again!

Ken

05/21/2013 15:35

Very clever Christy! I had the same problem with the mini as the tube diameter is very small. And, as long as you are not using color, the direct fill from a standard is a good adaptation. Very good idea. Thanks for the comment. Ken.

tonya

06/17/2013 09:18

here goes :) i am going to try christies method of just using parchment paper in a jar if this doesnt work then i'll go but a copper tube

Sheryl

06/23/2013 11:24

Hi! I happen to have left oversilicon molding which I will pour around a glue gun stick and use that instead of tubing as template. Do you think there will be a problem with this?

Ken

06/23/2013 18:14

Hey Sheryl,
That is possibly a great idea! The Shore hardness is a bit too soft so it may become distorted but it should release fairly well. Lucky that you have some left over as it is expensive and has a relatively short shelf life. I think that I would support the completed mold with some outer material, but clever idea and please let us know how it worked. Ken.

Sheryl

06/23/2013 18:34

This particular silicon does have a longer shelf life and I will use plastic pipe (cut up and down to make two parts held together with clamps) that will hold the glue stic template. Once dried I will pull out the template and place mold back in pipe, secure it then pour hot glue with wax. I have found that a combination of wax and glue is used as sealing wax for stamps. Once I've completed this I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks Ken

Milt Nation

10/29/2013 15:22

Ken (and all that made comments). This idea is outstanding, fun and saved me money. Thank you!

Sarah

11/09/2013 16:06

How many glue sticks do you melt with one crayon?

Ken

11/10/2013 08:05

Hi Sarah,
Great question and the answer depends on two variables. The first is the color density and the second is the color desired. The crayola crayons have different tinctorial strengths. The process that I used when developing the process was, in general, 1/2 of a regular size crayon to three standard size glue sticks. But, you can add more as needed until the color you want is achieved. It is somewhat of an art but works well. Good luck and thanks for the question. Ken.

Brad

01/17/2014 06:45

Ken,
Thanks for the great post and detailed instructions. My project it to repair plastic cracked from a rearview mirror on a car and I came across website that said Hot glue was appropriate for this. I wanted to get some black glue sticks so I would not have to prime and paint etc.
After I saw your web site I searched on line again and found some colored sticks available (not custom colors, but i just need black). I ordered them since I hope this is a one time repair job and for 6$ probably not worth the effort to make my own.... until they shipped me "Hair extension Glue sticks". Now I am wondering what chemical composition i should be looking for to repair molded plastic trim on my vehicle?
Thanks in advance.

Ken

01/17/2014 09:04

Hi Brad,
You can still use the basic method to make the repair. Just melt an appropriate amount of a regular glue stick and add small amounts of a black crayola crayon to get the color close to the mirror frame. Use a small aluminum foil container and melt on the stove. Hope that this helps! Ken.

Samantha

03/12/2014 20:35

Hey there, just found this tutorial and i must say very interesting!
I do have a question. I'm planning on using hot glue in a mold and I need a hot glue that is more liquid when it's melted (or I just need to use more glue in a smaller melting container, maybe?). Do you have a recommended brand or temp (high or low or multi-temp) and how long after you melt do you have to pour the glue into the mold (whether it be to reform the glue stick or into a mold of another shape)?

Ken

03/13/2014 10:06

Hi Samantha,
Your question revolves around two basic issues: Viscosity and open time, or the time you have to work before it sets. Viscosity, or inherent flow characteristics, is a function of temperature. Any of the available glue sticks,( hot melt adhesives), irrespective of its melt temperature can be heated beyond the glue gun temperature with improved flow characteristics. Of course, you can't overheat or burn it but an increase in temperature will improve flow viscosity. And, as I said in the write up, you can add paraffin wax up to about 20 % to decrease viscosity. The real problem is that these adhesives are designed to set fast so there is a relatively short set time. You can gain a little time by warming the mold. And a wax addition will also increase the set time.But, I have successfully made molds using Plaster of Paris. Hope that this helps, Ken.

Kim

03/31/2014 17:20

Thank you so much for helping me cut costs with these tips. Just found you guys. Thanks again for the free help. Kim

Kevin McKean

05/13/2014 15:45

Hey Ken, don't suppose you've ever tried making quarter-inch glue sticks with this method? I worry that the rolled wax paper is not likely to work well in a tube that small, and wonder if there's any other way to "grease" the tube (like with silicon or something ) in advance so that the paper would not be required. Best! Kevin

Ken

05/14/2014 09:29

Hi Kevin,
I have tried small diameter tubing but the viscosity is too high to successfully fill and retrieve the stick.Lowering the viscosity with wax just reduces tack. But, I did have an interesting idea to make small diameter sticks by extrusion. Add a short length of 1/4 inch tube to the end of a glue gun and make the tube long enough to allow the glue to form and not remain too hot to form a rod. Or, extrude it into isopropyl alcohol to cool it enough. Water won't work due to the density differential. I have not tried this approach but its the best idea that I have. Make the regular color stick and then extrude. Thanks for the question and comments, Ken.

Flory

09/09/2014 21:58

Okay... question, will clear glue sticks work (And more importantly harden clear) and can I use food coloring to make a translucent (Insert color here) glue stick.

Ken

09/10/2014 08:57

Hi Flory,
Yes, clear glue sticks will remain clear but you will not be able to use food color as it is water soluble. Crayola crayons will provide great color but they will not be translucent. For partial transparency you will need to find an oil soluble dye. Thanks, Ken.

David

09/19/2014 11:24

This is such a great recipe. Thank you for sharing. Going off of Flory's question, I was wondering what other ways you could color the glue sticks besides crayons. You mentioned dyes. Do you know if pigments would work? I'm trying to think of ways to have more nuanced control of the color (I use hot glue as a medium in itself for sculptures). Thank you!

Ken

09/20/2014 09:09

Hey David,
Yes, I have used pigments and even glitter when the project does not require the hot glue as a structural element. For more nuanced transparent color you might try liquid candle dye which is readily available. I have not used it but seems possible. Also, the standard glue stick (amber) does a good job of transmitting light from an LED. Just a thought! Ken.

Trever link

01/22/2015 12:44

can u give me simple instructions of the process to making it? (SIMPLE)

Ken

01/23/2015 15:49

Hi Trever,
I just re-read the instructions and the comments and just have no method to make it easier than what is described in the slide show and the comments. It really is a very simple process. Ken.

John

02/12/2015 02:17

I just used a tube inside a tube. The inner tube is split lengthwise and can be pushed out with a dowel. took a while to build but works great.

Make your own color hot glue sticks!

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