Goo Kitted China Lamp--HELP!!

So I got my first goo kit on Friday and took a crack at fixing my non-functioning China lamp this morning. It hasn't been a complete failure, but not a total success yet either. I gave it one 8 hour run so far. It domed at the bottom for about 3 hours, then started to make its way up toward the top. After hour 4 we left the house, and when we came home it was snaking really slowly but not quite hitting the top of the bottle. As far as I can tell there were never any blobs.The goo had also gone from almost fully transparent to fully opaque. (I put a little blue dye in it before pouring it into the bottle.)

As far as I know, the bottle was cleaned out properly. I boiled it to get the wax melted and poured completely out. I swished the boiled water around in the bottle to get the rest of the residue out. I scrubbed it with a bottle brush, hot water, and a little dish soap. I then rinsed it out with distilled water, put in the screen and wax, and got it heating up. It's a 32 oz lamp, and I used 10 oz. of surfactant as recommended in the goo kit instructions.

I'm not sure where I could have gone wrong. Do I just need to run it a few more times or is there something else I should be trying?

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Permalink Reply by Carol on February 8, 2015 at 9:44am

That looks very nice!!! If it starts to turn back to clear again after it has turned opaque then it is running too hot. Also, when it starts to break up into a lot of smaller globules it's getting hot. If you have a thermometer that measures temp you should NOT run them above 130 degrees. 120 is preferred for optimal flow. 130 will get you a clearer goo according to MT. I used my meat thermometer to get a ballpark reading of my liquid and it was running kind of hot. 140 or so. A dimmer is a must with goo kits in my opinion.

This is what I use: but any brand will work

http://www.pegasuslighting.com/credenza-locator-light-dimmer-plug-i...

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Permalink Reply by Chris on February 8, 2015 at 10:33am

Yep--just went up to Home Depot and got the same exact dimmer as the one I got for my 90s Silver Streak. Firing it back up now so I can start messing with settings. I have it at about 80% at the moment.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on February 8, 2015 at 10:34am

Thanks! I am so happy I got the goo kit to work right. I have plenty of goo and surfactant left over to do my Silver Streak if it ever dies, and now I have the know-how to go right along with it!

analoghaze said:

Looks nice.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on February 8, 2015 at 7:22pm

I guess I'm sort of hooked now. My 32 oz Silver Streak is now kitted as well. Just threw it on a base to see how it flows. I figured I would use what I learned from the China lamp with all the bubbles in the glass to re-do the really nice looking one that was made in 97. I had plenty of goo kit left, so I figured what the hell.

I'll post pics if it turns out nice.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on February 14, 2015 at 11:50am

Kim at MT assured me that there has been no change in the goo formula at all but it seems to me that something is different. However I do not agree with some of the info that the nice people at MT gave me. I'm on my second kit now and so far so good for the most part but I'm still having some issues that I will discuss with them on Monday.

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Permalink Reply by Carol on February 14, 2015 at 12:08pm

OH Pleazzzeeee!!! Let's not get into the goo kit "issues"!! haahaaahh!! I've had my own, believe you me.....I've done and redone a few of my lamps like um......4, maybe 5 times. let's put it this way, I've lost count. Mostly for the inside of the globe "hazing"/fogging" up, but I did call Kim and found out i'm running them too hot. Since I've turned down the heat, so far so good on the sticking. Again, i'm not sure some of his info was 100 percent accurate, but again, he is "selling" a product and being in retail for 25 years, I've come to realize that when selling/pushing a product, one is not always 100 percent truthful, or maybe twists the truth to a point to make the product sound more sturdy then it really truly is.

Anyway, I still prefer my own custom kits to any LL lamp cept for my 3 vintages that I now own. I like the fact that I created them as i'm usually not Very creative at all. Also, the fact that I can color them to my liking also is addictive to me, haahaa....

Hey Chris, watch out on the addiction, here's a "few" of my kits......