Looking for a source of glitter

[Adrian]

Hello, I am looking for a source of glitter, preferably 10*10 mm silver squares. It needs to be resistant to a calcium nitrate solution or maybe even also perchloroethylene.
Holographic would also be nice, even though I think I have some 5mm tinsel curtain that actually works. My 10*10 mylar confetti seems to look worse after getting into my nitrate solution, but not eaten away yet (it's been a few weeks). It's also maybe a little too transparent.

I'm based in Denmark, EU.

[Claude J]

You require Solvent resistant glitter
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Theglittersource?ref=nla_listing_details/

[Mark Golebiowski]

Hi Adrian,

It seems that you've already successfully made glitter lamps (except for the glitter itself). I want to try my hand at it, but I have no idea how much Calcium nitrate I need. How much do you use to produce a lamp that's let's say approx.1 liter? Where do you buy it? I want to make a large lamp. It seems that the pure stuff is quite expensive.... https://www.amazon.com/HiMedia-GRM1227-500G-Calcium-Tetrahydrate-Pu...

Can I use the kind for fertilizer? https://www.amazon.com/Voluntary-Purchasing-Group-BAC351-Calcium/dp...

Any advice will be appreciated

Mark

[Adrian]

I bought a big bag of fertilizer, but it's very impure. I filtered through cut out corners of vacuum cleaner bags in a funnel twice (hard to get the liquid through, the bags are waterprooof until squeezed many times while wet). You can get bigger micron filters online so it will be more efficient.

Then through a water filter straw (I removed the active carbon in it). Then the fluid was clear, but with a yellow tint. I'll color it golden and put silver glitter in, it gives a nice warm golden light with a halogen bulb under.

My ratio is 1,18 : 1 (Calcium Nitrate : Distilled Water). The glitter will then float, and you add distilled water until balanced. Slowly, and give it a day for the tiny bubbles on the glitter flakes to disappear. You want the glitter to be in the top when the lamp is off, and floating around when the lamp is on an warmed up :)

I just ordered solvent resistant PET craft glitter from Hemway, but I know lamps can work with mylar / the thin confetti style glitter. Maybe they use citric acid, tetrachloroethylene or something else. I just got some citric acid I'll experiment with. I want my 10*10mm confetti to work in a lamp like in a Goolamp.

[Mark Golebiowski]

Thank you SO MUCH for the info Adrian! It's very helpful. Have you tried Calcium Chloride? It's easier to get in larger quantities. I've read that there are problems with it in glitter lamps.

[Adrian]

Didn't try the calcium chloride, I saw some people who moved on to the nitrate. The commercial glitter lamps I have had did not have calcium nitrate as far as I can tell, and they didn't smell like solvent. I can't make the glitter float with citric acid yet, maybe I need to add even more than 2:1 citric acid : water.

Let me hear what your results are.