Yes there is something magic about the Clear on Clear lava lamps. When it comes to great looking works of art on the Grande lamps Woodvetch is a master with here photos.
Bohdan I need help.
I made my lamps years ago. No longer have my equipment or instructions.
Some of my homemade lamps were not sealed properly and evaporation happened when they were stored.
I moved, lamps now out again and flowing beautifully but several of the grandes need fluid to be topped off.
What are your suggestions for topping off and please provide fluid recipe as I no longer have.
Goo and fluid recipe was from Lava Louie himself well before he began selling kits.
Thanks for any help you can give. If it's a kit I need who is selling one you apprtove of?
Lava Louie made great kits back in the day. We now have same by Magma Tower and they are a member here and you can ask them questions. Over time formulas change and you may have to take liquid from one lamp to save the others and then just make that lamp into a new goo kit from Magma if so just save the remaining liquid you have to be used if needed down the road for your older grande lamps.
congrats on these clear/clears, have admired these pix for ages.... I agree with Electric Astro a year ago - who needs colour with these elegant shapes?
my understanding was that these kits don't actually stay clear, they go back to solid/opaque when they cool, and are only clear at first, but please tell me i'm wrong and that they stay like this?
and also - if they do stay clear - is Magma Tower the best source?
I spoke with magma tower and they said he hasn't turned off his clear lamp for 3 months for experimental purposes and it will turn white. This is what I heard from a manufacturer. But he said he was testing the goo. So I hope this helps. I know that if it cools as normal it will turn opaque like when you get it as a solid until it heats again, then becomes clear again. It'll stay clear for a long long time if used for 8-10 hours a day. That's my input. If I'm wrong okay. The owner of the lamp could probably tell you more.
Yeah, thanks Brian, that's more or less what I've heard; it's all about whether it stays clear without running every day...
Sorry, Woodvetch, that you have problems with these beautiful globes - when you have a minute please would you -or Bohdan? - advise on this slightly-off-current-post issue? I'd love to emulate these clear/clears, if they stay clear!
And I hope you manage to top them off ok; I've got similar problems with an old favourite Lunar globe, and cannot get the wax running properly after topping up the old fluid, so I know how tricky it can be... though I'm emphatically not expert in any way...
My clear experience is opaque when cold clear when hot. Made them in 2008. They have stayed clear when running all this time.
Before I turned him on to the major goo website, at that time, Louie was experimenting with clear and shared that special goo with me to experiment with as well.
The red and purple were both clear st first then settled into opaque forever. The neon green and blue both started clear, still are, but colors changed to a yellow that changes to clear greenish then bluish and back to clear yellow as it flows. Often I'll get multi colors in the flow.
Awesome stuff.
Thanks so much for sharing, Woodvetch. It sounds like they run even better than they look in the photos, which must be, as you say.... awesome
Would you say an approach to Magma Towers might be the best route to source this clear/clear?
I'm planning two very big globes; one already organised, the other - well, you can guess!
I'm based in UK, and not expert, so will get help with the hands-on craftsmanship.
(I've got two magical Lunar globes that change through two/three/four colours, they are entrancing! But they are opaque and coloured all the way through the process...)
Best of success with the top-off, it ought to be simple, shouldn't it? Ha!
Richard is the name at M.T.
I clean globe extremely well. Use a degreaser (break cleaner) rinse many times. Final rinse use distilled water clean outside of lamp with vinegar windex. Hold up in bright light to ensure there is no residue ( super clear ) you will be able to see this.
Put a few drops of surf in drop coil in and swirl for a moment pour it out.
Add 20% wax to the size of the bottles volume ,I do allot of grande lamps.
I pour in 3.5 cups of goo.let harden super still don't move it til wax is totally set.
Next, use the surfactant that u get from M.T.
It calls for 10ml per quart of water ( mix in your surf with water) stir and let sit till room temp.don't cool manually (take about 4,5 hours. Set it on the base wait for all the wax to melt.
After about 4 to 6 hours it'll make a dome and sit still. Water needs to weigh more then wax, so I made a solution of Epsom salts (clear no scent) separately take a jar (clear glass to see that all is dissolved) full your cup 2/3 full with distilled water saturate water until no more will absorbe. (Water solution is done) I add 4ml of my water solution to my lamp when it's hot wax and water (110° to 120°) it will make your wax go nutty for a minute. It'll then settle and might begin the flow (it should)if not add 2 more drops of water solution or until disired flow. If you like your go to run fast add a tad surf 4 or 5 drops,wait for a couple hours then.if it makes super big blobs you might like that (I like more action) So I add more water solution 2 drops at a time until I get the what i like.
Recap and enjoy. I hope this helps.
Happy new years my friend.
Brian.
Andy Ross
I made my lamps almost 10 years ago working directly with Louie well before he started selling kits thru MagnaTower. The goo and fluid recipe he sent me were from what he was experimenting with at the time so I could experiment as well and feed him my results.
We lost touch went my work became 10-11 months a year on road and lavas were packed away. Five years. I've now retired and just moved. Bringing my beloved lavas back into my life is a joy only other goo heads can appreciate. I love them. They soothe my soul and explode my creative nature.
Andy Ross
Oops got off track.
Yes I would take to Magma a Tower about what you're wanting to accomplish. MT is a Lava Louie company.
My LL special goo grandes are so special and flow so beautifully I don't think I'll mess with them. I may fashion some sort of extended cap to cover the evaporated spaces. It's not horrible, 2" on one 3", air space on another.
Andy,
A goo friend in Germany was successful in creating metallics several years back. He sent me one. When it comes out if moving box I'll post a pic.
A chrome can be established by a super fine silver glitter. I mean like powder fine. Hard to find but I found them that mix with the paraffin. best results come from making secondary colors to create white lava then saturate with the glitter till it no longer has a glitter sparkle look to it add bit by bit and it's turns mirror silver. Super super cool. ..
Hi Woodvetch, sorry to have intruded on the top-up briefing, here's just one ignorant thought - might there be something completely harmless/neutral you can put in, to extend the fluid without altering its characteristics?
and thanks for the background info - it's your clear/clear Grandes that fascinate and delight me, ever since I saw the pix (though metallics are pretty amazing too)
I was thinking of a test-run on a Lunar clear/clear, then maybe a really big one - just refurb'ed something very special indeed and am making extra large globes for the right lava to go wild in....
i'll try MT, thanks, their website looks really awesome, hope they will work at street level! Any suggestions as to whom to contact/brief would be greatly appreciated?
Best for '16, and good luck with those globes, whichever route you go...
Thanks for posting.... Forgive me if I misunderstood, but I thought you said earlier that the MT clear/clears went opaque after a while? And when they cooled down?
If they really do stay crystal clear over time (like Woodvetch's beauties) I'd very much like to try to duplicate that Invisible Touch effect here in the UK. Would need advice, but will listen...
Please do get in touch if you/MT can help?
Any serious advice very welcome!
Electric Astro - I agree about Mathmos clear! Especially up at the Lunar end...
Bohdan
Excellent photo.
Dec 2, 2014
ElectricAstro
Who needs colour? This is beautiful. This is what lava is all about, the shapes that amaze you.
Jan 4, 2015
Patti
So different looking with its black/white finish.
Jan 18, 2015
Brian Ellis
Dec 29, 2015
Bohdan
Yes there is something magic about the Clear on Clear lava lamps. When it comes to great looking works of art on the Grande lamps Woodvetch is a master with here photos.
Dec 29, 2015
Brian Ellis
Dec 29, 2015
Woodvetch
I made my lamps years ago. No longer have my equipment or instructions.
Some of my homemade lamps were not sealed properly and evaporation happened when they were stored.
I moved, lamps now out again and flowing beautifully but several of the grandes need fluid to be topped off.
What are your suggestions for topping off and please provide fluid recipe as I no longer have.
Goo and fluid recipe was from Lava Louie himself well before he began selling kits.
Thanks for any help you can give. If it's a kit I need who is selling one you apprtove of?
Dec 30, 2015
Bohdan
Lava Louie made great kits back in the day. We now have same by Magma Tower and they are a member here and you can ask them questions. Over time formulas change and you may have to take liquid from one lamp to save the others and then just make that lamp into a new goo kit from Magma if so just save the remaining liquid you have to be used if needed down the road for your older grande lamps.
http://60slights.ning.com/profile/GooKits?xg_source=activity
Dec 30, 2015
Andy Ross
congrats on these clear/clears, have admired these pix for ages.... I agree with Electric Astro a year ago - who needs colour with these elegant shapes?
my understanding was that these kits don't actually stay clear, they go back to solid/opaque when they cool, and are only clear at first, but please tell me i'm wrong and that they stay like this?
and also - if they do stay clear - is Magma Tower the best source?
Thanks! And Happy new year!
Dec 30, 2015
Brian Ellis
Dec 30, 2015
Andy Ross
Yeah, thanks Brian, that's more or less what I've heard; it's all about whether it stays clear without running every day...
Sorry, Woodvetch, that you have problems with these beautiful globes - when you have a minute please would you -or Bohdan? - advise on this slightly-off-current-post issue? I'd love to emulate these clear/clears, if they stay clear!
And I hope you manage to top them off ok; I've got similar problems with an old favourite Lunar globe, and cannot get the wax running properly after topping up the old fluid, so I know how tricky it can be... though I'm emphatically not expert in any way...
Dec 31, 2015
Woodvetch
Before I turned him on to the major goo website, at that time, Louie was experimenting with clear and shared that special goo with me to experiment with as well.
The red and purple were both clear st first then settled into opaque forever. The neon green and blue both started clear, still are, but colors changed to a yellow that changes to clear greenish then bluish and back to clear yellow as it flows. Often I'll get multi colors in the flow.
Awesome stuff.
Dec 31, 2015
Woodvetch
Dec 31, 2015
Andy Ross
Thanks so much for sharing, Woodvetch. It sounds like they run even better than they look in the photos, which must be, as you say.... awesome
Would you say an approach to Magma Towers might be the best route to source this clear/clear?
I'm planning two very big globes; one already organised, the other - well, you can guess!
I'm based in UK, and not expert, so will get help with the hands-on craftsmanship.
(I've got two magical Lunar globes that change through two/three/four colours, they are entrancing! But they are opaque and coloured all the way through the process...)
Best of success with the top-off, it ought to be simple, shouldn't it? Ha!
Maybe you should ask Lava Louie, if he's i/c MT?
Dec 31, 2015
Woodvetch
Dec 31, 2015
Brian Ellis
I clean globe extremely well. Use a degreaser (break cleaner) rinse many times. Final rinse use distilled water clean outside of lamp with vinegar windex. Hold up in bright light to ensure there is no residue ( super clear ) you will be able to see this.
Put a few drops of surf in drop coil in and swirl for a moment pour it out.
Add 20% wax to the size of the bottles volume ,I do allot of grande lamps.
I pour in 3.5 cups of goo.let harden super still don't move it til wax is totally set.
Next, use the surfactant that u get from M.T.
It calls for 10ml per quart of water ( mix in your surf with water) stir and let sit till room temp.don't cool manually (take about 4,5 hours. Set it on the base wait for all the wax to melt.
After about 4 to 6 hours it'll make a dome and sit still. Water needs to weigh more then wax, so I made a solution of Epsom salts (clear no scent) separately take a jar (clear glass to see that all is dissolved) full your cup 2/3 full with distilled water saturate water until no more will absorbe. (Water solution is done) I add 4ml of my water solution to my lamp when it's hot wax and water (110° to 120°) it will make your wax go nutty for a minute. It'll then settle and might begin the flow (it should)if not add 2 more drops of water solution or until disired flow. If you like your go to run fast add a tad surf 4 or 5 drops,wait for a couple hours then.if it makes super big blobs you might like that (I like more action) So I add more water solution 2 drops at a time until I get the what i like.
Recap and enjoy. I hope this helps.
Happy new years my friend.
Brian.
Dec 31, 2015
ElectricAstro
Auras Glow make a truly amazing clear/clear candle powered lava lamp.
Dec 31, 2015
Woodvetch
I made my lamps almost 10 years ago working directly with Louie well before he started selling kits thru MagnaTower. The goo and fluid recipe he sent me were from what he was experimenting with at the time so I could experiment as well and feed him my results.
We lost touch went my work became 10-11 months a year on road and lavas were packed away. Five years. I've now retired and just moved. Bringing my beloved lavas back into my life is a joy only other goo heads can appreciate. I love them. They soothe my soul and explode my creative nature.
Jan 1, 2016
Brian Ellis
Jan 1, 2016
Brian Ellis
Jan 1, 2016
Woodvetch
Oops got off track.
Yes I would take to Magma a Tower about what you're wanting to accomplish. MT is a Lava Louie company.
My LL special goo grandes are so special and flow so beautifully I don't think I'll mess with them. I may fashion some sort of extended cap to cover the evaporated spaces. It's not horrible, 2" on one 3", air space on another.
Jan 1, 2016
Woodvetch
A goo friend in Germany was successful in creating metallics several years back. He sent me one. When it comes out if moving box I'll post a pic.
Jan 1, 2016
Brian Ellis
Jan 1, 2016
Brian Ellis
Jan 1, 2016
Andy Ross
Hi Woodvetch, sorry to have intruded on the top-up briefing, here's just one ignorant thought - might there be something completely harmless/neutral you can put in, to extend the fluid without altering its characteristics?
and thanks for the background info - it's your clear/clear Grandes that fascinate and delight me, ever since I saw the pix (though metallics are pretty amazing too)
I was thinking of a test-run on a Lunar clear/clear, then maybe a really big one - just refurb'ed something very special indeed and am making extra large globes for the right lava to go wild in....
i'll try MT, thanks, their website looks really awesome, hope they will work at street level! Any suggestions as to whom to contact/brief would be greatly appreciated?
Best for '16, and good luck with those globes, whichever route you go...
Andy
Jan 1, 2016
Bohdan
Whenever I see this photo it reminds me of 2 words. Invisible Touch
Jan 4, 2016
ElectricAstro
I wish Mathmos would do a clear lamp.
Jan 4, 2016
Brian Ellis
Magma Tower. Just add no color. I've done it. Clear as a bell. Try it
Jan 4, 2016
Andy Ross
Brian,
Thanks for posting.... Forgive me if I misunderstood, but I thought you said earlier that the MT clear/clears went opaque after a while? And when they cooled down?
If they really do stay crystal clear over time (like Woodvetch's beauties) I'd very much like to try to duplicate that Invisible Touch effect here in the UK. Would need advice, but will listen...
Please do get in touch if you/MT can help?
Any serious advice very welcome!
Electric Astro - I agree about Mathmos clear! Especially up at the Lunar end...
Jan 4, 2016