Often time, when you are working with your heat gun, what would happen is that the scraps of the vinyl film will land on the tip. And since the tip stays hot for a very long time, it tends to melt the scraps very quickly, which will then embed itself on the very front of the heat gun.
If you do nothing about it and continue to use that heat gun, the temperature will make the scraps of vinyl smoke. You will not want to breathe in those chemicals, as they are not only harmful but also dangerous to breathe, especially for PVC material. In this situation, you would want to remove those scraps as quickly as possible.
However, because the tip of the gun is still hot, the first thing you need to do is to disconnect it from the electric source and spray it with soapy water. Doing this will cool down and harden the scraps that are on the tip. And now, extend your blade and cut away the vinyl yourself.
If it is still hot, then cool it down one more time, and you can wipe away any excess quickly.
What you have to do is to scrape off the melted vinyl. To do this, it is essential to scrape away from yourself and work thoroughly, make sure to get 100% of the scraps off the tip of the side. But remember, you have to get around the tip yet do not touch the front because it is extremely hot – if you put a paper towel or microfiber there while it is still hot, it will burn. So you might burn your finger if you risk doing that.
This is why it is vital to use just a long extended blade to do this job and cut away from yourself. Once you go through all these steps, you will get a heat gun back fresh with no scraps on, so that you can turn it back on and safe for the workspace.
