Problem with "new" Lava Lamp

[MagicLamp]

Hi everybody,

I'm going to start posting here with a problem: I recently started collecting Lava lamps and I got a "Magma Lamp" with an unusual golden/brown wax and aqua blue liquid, which however was the only one in the shop and was put on display. I literally got it packaged while it was still hot.

Anyway, soon after trying it home, I discovered that part of the wax was encrusted along the interior walls in long stripes (in fact, I hadn't seen it moving while in the shop) and most of it had stagnated on the top of the lamp. It also looked grainy, with a sandy texture and full of bubbles and even unidentified garbage, while the bottom of the lamp was practically devoid of wax.

Turning it on normally had no effect, as the wax on the walls would not melt unless I pointed an external reflector lamp at it, and then it would only make the top clogging worse.

Even after a long heating with a 30W bulb instead of its 25W one and shaking the wax, the encrusting didn't go away, but at least most of the wax went at the bottom, although full of bubbles that didn't burst. After some time, the wax just crawled along the walls (at the site of the previous streak) and clogged the top of the lamp again.

What could have happened to make the wax degenerate to this point? Can it be reversed/treated in some way? Is this lamp recoverable? It'd be a pity otherwise because the color combination is really nice...assuming I'm not looking at heavily discolored wax (because the box states blue liquid and purple wax...)

[MagicLamp]

Heh in retrospect that was the worst thing that I could do...what little perc was still trapped in the wax must have gone to high heavens at that point. Read, learn, and never repeat :-p

[Pretzel Gal]

Ohhhhhh I see! :/ You might want to keep your eyes open for another lamp and swop out the contents to the lamp you really like.

[MagicLamp]

OK...I managed to find what appears to be 100% perc in the form of "Unispec Elecric Motor + Machinery Cleaner", from a local chain of hardware stores (Alex Pak). Contains: Tetrachloroethylene. Seems about right ;-)