Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate

Hi, I'm new here and hoping for some advice. I have what I think maybe a vintage Mathmos lamp, but unfortunately the wax is stuck to the sides and sits at the bottom. I'm not sure where to start with trying to revive it or whether I would just be better starting over. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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It is salvageable.  Just buy a new bottle and enjoy, or It is also possible to refill the bottle that you have.  

i think thats beyond repairing, not seen a bottle with so much wax covering the bottle, makes me wonder if someone had attempted re-doing the fluid and caused the wax to stick.  if the metal cap ( lid ) isnt stuck on like the 60s and 70s lamps then like critter said get a new bottle, less hassle

Thank you both for the replies! I did wonder if it was beyond saving, seemed pretty bad. The metal cap unscrews so I can imagine the previous owner had a go at fixing it without much success!  I’m not keen on buying a new bottle as the bottle itself is fine. Is it possible to refill it? I’m up for a challenge if it’s possible 

you can buy a "goo" lava kit which u can refill it from the u.s, or buy a mathmos astro bottle and transfer the new contents into your old bottle, but you will find that the new bottles have less contents so will be about 1cm lower liquid level when filled. transferring the liquid and wax isnt the easiest task and you can end up with disaster and 30quid out of pocket.

how old is the lamp your got? is its like 90s on wards then go for new bottle, recycle the old one


Thank you - I'm not sure how old my one is but I'll check when I get home today. 

Johnny said:

you can buy a "goo" lava kit which u can refill it from the u.s, or buy a mathmos astro bottle and transfer the new contents into your old bottle, but you will find that the new bottles have less contents so will be about 1cm lower liquid level when filled. transferring the liquid and wax isnt the easiest task and you can end up with disaster and 30quid out of pocket.

how old is the lamp your got? is its like 90s on wards then go for new bottle, recycle the old one

Love this idea - but I'm wondering if there's a diy method? Having looked around the forum maybe Propyl Glycol and the Mylar glitter? Both seem fairly inexpensive to buy online so I'm thinking it might be worth experimenting.

Marcel said:

What would be the best way to dispose of the stuff already in the lamp? Is it likely to be safe to pour down the sink? It smells a bit toxic.

modern fluid they say can pour down the sink but dont do the lava part, unscrew the bottle top either pour most of the cold fluid down the sink leave about a cm above the wax, heat the lamp up on the base so its all melted , get a jug and put a plastic food bag open in it and when the wax has melted so its all runny pour into the jug/bag leave it go cold then pour the rest of the fluid away and chuck the wax ( bag ) in the bin,  or second option is same as above with all the fluid in , let it heat up and melt and pour into a milk cartoon ( 4 pint ) and bin

Alyson Wills said:

What would be the best way to dispose of the stuff already in the lamp? Is it likely to be safe to pour down the sink? It smells a bit toxic.

ive had a few of the glitters and cant praise em enough, love em, the glitter squares just like mathmos, i keep thinking of doing my princess floor standing but concerned that 25litres running of 100watt bulb isnt going to work, and cant lift the bottle of to shake it if they pool on the bottom of the bottle :-(  not only that its gonna be mega pricey lol

Marcel said:

You might need slightly more than 100w, but it would certainly work - and look great!

The point about the dead area above the lip is well made, presumably the coil takes care of this with lava?

(Could you put a coil in there for glitter?)

Understood about not lifting and shaking, but couldn't you lay the cylinder flat on the carpet and roll it occasionally?

glitter does not use a coil and work on a lower wattage so your 100 watt will probably be fine

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