I never really had a problem years ago with my old covering iron, but I bought a new one and it doesn't seem to get up to temp. What temp should I be able to get it up to ??</p>

For UltraCote you'll need 200-230F for tacking and 330-350F for shrinking. It is written in the directions. I use my digital meat thermometer to find the position of the iron temp dial that corresponds to this temp range. You could do the same for other coverings. They each have recommended tempertures.

It's generally 250 and 350 for basic shrink temps. Some of the irons had a bad silkscreen and the temp was off a lot. This is where it really pays to read the instructions and pay attention to the recommended temperature. Also obtain an IR thermometer that reads up to 350. They will save a lot of problems.

I went through the same thing a bit over a year ago. My new iron gets hot but where you set the temp is a lot different. I don't use anything these days to find what temp I'm running, I just start out low and work my way up until the covering sticks the way I like it. I miss my old iron but when it shorted out it was on my building board and tried to burn my shop down!! I'm just starting to get used to my new iron.