How To Heat WoodUbend Appliques and Mouldings

It may seem like a simple thing, especially to me as I use WoodUbend every day, but I’m often asked questions about the best way to heat the mouldings. It’s not a tricky process, but it can be daunting for those just starting off, so read on to discover how to get your mouldings nice and bendy.

First up, let’s discuss when you should be heating your mouldings. Obviously, before you begin to use them they need to be warm and bendy, but be careful though as WoodUbend can cool down quickly. The mouldings take roughly the same amount of time to cool down as they did to warm up, so make sure they are good and warm before you get to work. It’s just as important, but not as widely known, to heat them when they are being adhered to the surface. This makes sure, as Angela Bailey of Elfen & Helden says, that they snuggle to the surface. A rule of thumb is if you think you should be warming your mouldings … then you should be!

A Heat Gun

Using a heat gun is the quickest method of heating your mouldings, however, it is also the riskiest. If you’re not comfortable using a heat gun, then I would advise caution. Most heat guns can reach anywhere between 200°C all the way up to 600°C. This is more than enough to cause some damage to your surroundings, your WoodUbend mouldings and, most importantly, yourself.

As the name suggests, WoodUbend has a very high wood content – this is why they react just like wood when cool. Because they have such a high wood content, they can be scorched, just like wood. When using a heat gun it is imperative to keep it moving, especially if you have glue on your moulding. The glue can bubble and burn really quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on it.

A Hairdryer

A hairdryer will take a little longer to warm up your WoodUbend mouldings, but if you are a little hesitant to use a heat gun, this method carries with it a much lower chance of damaging your lovely mouldings. The flip side of this, however, is that a hairdryer is going to take longer to warm up your WoodUbend.

So, if you’re a little intimidated by a heat gun, a hairdryer is the perfect tool to use.

A Griddle

An interesting one, but immensely useful, having a sausage griddle with a little bit of tin foil on top works very well. Set your griddle on medium heat to gently warm up your mouldings while you’re working on other parts of your project. It’s a little outside of the box, but it works an absolute treat, especially if you combine it with one of the two methods I’ve mentioned earlier. You can be painting away, safe in the knowledge that your WoodUbend mouldings are warm and ready to use.

The tin foil is an important factor in the process, as the griddle can get warm, and the tin foil will protect your mouldings from being scorched while sitting there. It also works well to keep sausage grease off of them!

Happy Bending!

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