Salt

[JC Harris]

I got another original Lavalite lamp at a garage sale. The guy told me the wax was kinda 'dead' and he was right. So with nothing to lose, I poured in some salt water. And Boy Howdy, if you want 'flow'? Salt sure does it.

However... it -slightly- clouds the water. Not a lot, but it's noticeable from a distance. I used pickling salt and let it sit first, but it's still not crystal clear. I've experimented since with dilution, but it seems like the 'salinity' necessary to get the flow action makes it -slightly- cloudy.

So... is there an alternative, which will add the same 'buoyancy' as salt, but remain clear? AND that won't break down the wax? (I dunno, does salt break down the wax?)

If there is no such stuff, I'll just go get some Magma goo, but I suspect there must be. The 'water' that comes with Lavalite lamps smells like dry cleaning fluid so maybe someone know what -that- is?

TIA,

---JC