Heat Embossing Question

[Scottsbride2008]

I have a quick question for my fellow heat embossers. I LOVE the look of heat embossing and recently used it for the first time on Vellum straight out of the printer. It looked AMAZING, except for the fact the my paper warped, and it happens with card stock as well.

So my question is, how do I prevent my paper from warping when using my heat gun on it?

TIA

Linda

[StampJam]

sounds like you are either over-heating or holding the heat gun too close to your paper. try a little distance from your paper and keep the gun moving. just make little or big circles around and around as it melts the powder. sometimes just keeping the paper flat on a counter instead of holding it in the air helps, too. hope this works for you. i love embossing myself!

[cat_woman]

Another trick you can try is alternating holding the heat gun above and underneath your paper. The heat causes the paper to curl in one direction, so putting the heat on the other side will cause it to curl in the other direction, sort of straightening it out. As StampJam said also, holding the heat gun too close will cause your paper to warp more.

[Scottsbride2008]

Thanks! I think I may be holding the gun too close, but if that doesn't work, I'll try your idea cat_woman

[StrangeMagic]

Glad to see this tip! This has been a hurdle for me...I watch the TH video's and his curls up but then it curls right back again and I always ask my computer screen "How does that happen???" haha I bet I am holding the gun too close also. I am going to have to try holding it further away

[craftdesigns]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottsbride2008

I have a quick question for my fellow heat embossers. I LOVE the look of heat embossing and recently used it for the first time on Vellum straight out of the printer. It looked AMAZING, except for the fact the my paper warped, and it happens with card stock as well.

So my question is, how do I prevent my paper from warping when using my heat gun on it?

TIA

Linda

Thanks to the moisture present in every house, paper soaks up moisture like a sponge, and when heated from one side, that side becomes dry, and the paper will curl away from that side. If you dry the paper prior to stamping, you eliminate the moisture problem. Only takes a minute to run the gun over one side of the paper, then the other side (have to do both sides).

Holding the gun waaaay too close to the paper also present problems. If you are using a Milwaukee Heat Gun, that gadget heats up to 1100 degrees (basically it's a paint stripper), so you really have to back off with that one. Embossing powder melts between 260 -280 degrees. That's all that's needed to do the job.

Rather than swing the gun from spot to spot, hold it a decent distance from the paper, and aim it at one area until that powder melts. Soon as the powder melts in that area, aim the nozzle of the gun at the adjoining area. The powder melts much faster this way, also reducing the possibility of curling the paper. The more you move the gun before the powder starts to melt, the longer it takes to reach the melting temperature. The results can be uneven melting of the powder.

If you're doing a lot of thermal embossing....put the paper on cake cooling racks in a warm (around 200 degrees) over for about five minutes...fast way to dry out the paper. You can also melt the embossing powder in the oven (very handy if you're doing a slug of embossed cards). Preheat the oven to 275 degrees, place the cards in the oven; the powder is usually melted within five minutes (may be quicker than that). Handle carefully when removing from the oven...the powder will be hot.

[rembrandt]

I used to have a similar problem - and the answer was that my heat gun
was just way too hot. I've had the same Milwaukee heat gun since the
early 80's. I decided to put "ole reliable" away and invested in a Ranger Heat tool. Not only does it NOT warp my paper, this puppy is quiet as a mouse! I find myself embossing more often and looking for other techniques that let me use my new gun!
God Bless!