Tacky glue is a perfect adhesive for a lot of arts and crafts work. It is one of my favorite tools for simple arts and crafts or creative hobbies. But for those who don’t know how to use tacky glue, here are a few tips and tricks.
I will cover how you can use tacky glue for projects, beginning with how to open the glue and close it for further use. I will also cover the materials with which tacky glue works.
How to Use Tacky Glue: Tips and Tricks
Tacky glue is perhaps the most popular choice for crafting adhesive. Therefore, you can use it for arts, crafts, and hobbies. But did you know that you can also use tacky glue for all sorts of your adhesion needs? You can use it for household needs or all-around gluing.
Let’s look into the specifics of using tacky glue for different projects.
How to Open Tacky Glue
Before we talk about using the glue for projects, let’s first discuss how to open the glue. This tidbit of knowledge will come in handy depending on the project you will do.
- Take off the cap at the top.
- You will notice that most tacky glue brands don’t have a hole on their nozzle. This little design is ingenious on the part of manufacturers. You need a pair of scissors to cut the nozzle and create a hole.
- Depending on the size of your project, you can customize the size of the tacky glue outlet on the nozzle. The more glue you need pouring out of the bottle, the nearer to the base of the nozzle you should cut. If you only need a tiny amount of glue to flow out of the nozzle, cut it at the first ridge. The nozzle should have three ridges. Cut at the highest ridge for the smallest amount of glue flowing out. Cut at the middle for a medium amount of glue, and the lowest ridge for a heavy glue flow.
How to Use Tacky Glue on Wood (and Other Semi-Porous Materials)
Wood and other semi-porous (e.g., pottery) materials are ordinarily heavy. Therefore, you will need to apply a heavy coat of tacky glue to stick them together.
- Since you will need to apply a thick layer of glue on the wood, it’s best to cut the nozzle at the third ridge.
- Apply a thick and heavy coat of tacky glue on the material.
- Clamp the material to where you want it to stick. If you don’t have a clamp, you can use weights to serve as a clamp. As long as you are applying pressure on the materials, you are doing it right.
- If excess glue pours out of the sides of the wood or pottery, wipe it out with a damp cloth while the glue is still wet.
- Let the glue set for 30 or 40 minutes, depending on the area the glue is covering.
- Seal the glue bottle for future use using the cap.
It’s that easy! Now let’s move on to other projects.
How to Use Tacky Glue for Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts cover a lot of items. But for this post, I will just focus on the little details. For example, how do you use tacky glue to stick beads to thick colored paper?
- You only need trifle amounts of glue pouring out of the nozzle for simple arts and crafts. Therefore, you need only cut the nozzle at the highest ridge to create the smallest hole.
- Depending on what you need to achieve, apply either small dots or thin strokes of glue on your crafts materials. If you are sticking a bead on paper, use tiny glue dots on the paper.
- Stick the beads on the paper where you applied the glue.
- Seal the glue bottle with the cap to ensure it does not dry and harden.
Done! That’s how you use tacky glue for arts and crafts.
Can You Use Tacky Glue on Fabric? What Other Materials Can I Use with It?
I’ve mentioned above that tacky glue is applicable to many materials and projects. But can you use tacky glue on fabric? How about foam? Or felt?
Tacky glue is a very versatile and effective adhesive. And yes, it works on fabric. However, it is not intended for washable and wearable materials. It is manufactured for fabric used for art projects.
Conclusion
As you can see, using tacky glue is easier than other types of glue.. There is nothing to it as long as you have a fair bit of common sense when it comes to sticking two items together.
First things first, remove the cap of the glue and cut its nozzle based on how much glue you need.
Then apply it to the materials you will use. If the materials are heavy, it’s good sense to use a clamp or weights to press the items together. And don’t forget to seal the glue bottle for future use.
And that’s how to use tacky glue explained. Enjoy your projects!