i use the hot glue gun all the time, usually on a daily basis at doing crafting of cardboard items %26 the general all purpose glue sticks are great for that purpose at a quick-fix ! There are specified glue's made for other purposes such as fixing broken glass or other plastics. The general all purpose glue sticks are NOT good for glass or food grade plastic mending. You will need a hotter glue stick for that purpose. The glue gun itself takes a good 10 minutes too properly heat up for a constant flow of glue, so have your project all ready to go %26 glue sticks readily available too keep the project in a progressive mode. You will need too press down on the 2 glued surfaces w/a weight %26 let the weight sit for at least 30 seconds for proper bonding of the 2 clean %26 dry surfaces. Save your drippings of hot glue as those can be remelted with the hot tip of the glue gun, thereby saving you using more glue sticks. You can remove the glue using 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol on certain fabrics or floors such as ceramic or laminated wood. The glue gun will start to leak after 25 hours of use, so have your projects lined up %26 ready to be glued. Unplug the unit as soon as you're finished so as to not waste the glue sticks in excess dribbles.