The Milwaukee 8975-6 11.6 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun might look a little like your wife’s hairdryer, but it really is a serious hand-held high heat throwing machine. With two temperature settings of 570 and 1,000 degrees F, these heat guns can pretty much peel the paint off of almost anything without having to worry about the issues that come with open flames. With a continuous duty rating, you can also plan on being able to work this tool non-stop for as long as you need it.
Milwaukee Dual Temperature Heat Gun Features
We picked up our test tool at a local industrial supplier and it arrived in a Milwaukee decorated cardboard box. Inside the box was the heat gun and the instruction manual. The Milwaukee 8975-6 11.6 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun is made of tough red-colored ABS plastic with an easy to hold handle. The heat controls are in the normal place of a trigger. The switch is a three-position rocker style with the upper and lower positions being high (1,000 deg F.) and low (570 deg F.) and the middle position being “off”.
On the back of the heat gun is the air intake and the nozzle end is made of metal with a removable plastic heat shroud. If other shapes of nozzles are needed, they are available separately and simply slip over the metal end. This heat gun was designed to stay cool even if you use it continually and, thanks to the overall weight of only 1.6 pounds, you can use it all day long with minimal fatigue.
Testing and Use
Many times we get tools in for review and we have to either design or come up with a test to try out the tool. This time it was backwards. We had a new (to us) job site trailer that was almost completely covered with vinyl graphics. From what we could tell, these graphics had been stuck on the sides of this trailer for many years and were not going to come off without a fight. We tried scrapers and putty knives and one of my guys even “borrowed” his wife’s hairdryer to try to heat up the adhesive to help get the graphics off.
Progress was going super slow and I had had enough, so I decided to take a quick trip up to a local industrial supply store. They had a few different brands of heat guns to choose from and ultimately I chose the Milwaukee 8975-6 11.6 Amp Dual Temperature Heat Gun because of its price and features. Now with the right tool for the job I headed back to the shop and handed off the new tool to the guys. After some experimenting with the temperature and our angle of approach, we quickly figured out that this heat gun had the performance we needed to loosen the old vinyl graphic adhesive. What could have literally taken days to complete with the other methods we did in hours with the Milwaukee 8975-6.
Drywall Repair
Another application that we also found handy showed up when we went to make a small drywall repair. Many times we lack the time to come back to sand and re-coat before we prime and paint. The Milwaukee Dual Temperature Heat Gun can heat quick-setting drywall mud. It let us perform quality drywall repairs in record time.
Conclusion
The Milwaukee 8975-6 Dual Temperature Heat Gun is a great choice for both the professional and do-it-yourself user. It’s great for removing paint, taking off vinyl graphics, or wherever you need lots of heat. If an open flame is not acceptable, this tool solves a major hassle. With a power fan motor to move the hot air and super-hot temperatures, we loved the tool’s performance. For a cheaper alternative, see the Porter-Cable heat gun as an alternative.
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