Transparent goo??

[Jethro]

Hi,

I think the motion inside the goo is almost as interesting as the goo flowing in the lamp.  Seen some fantastic lamps made by you brilliant people using some transparent goo.

I'd really like to put some transparent goo in my Humongo ( I figure 5 big kits).  Is Magma the only game in town?  Does Mathmos or LL sell goo directly?

J>

[TomK]

I have used the Magma goo kit to create fairly good transparent lava for two of my 52oz Century globes that were worn out. I added Magma's florescent green pigment to one and florescent blue to the other globe's lava. Under normal lighting the lava flow is transparent except for a wild prism effect because it breaks up the white light into separate colors that can vary with the angle and distance from the light bulb. A bit of water tinting with food coloring(I used red) adds to the effect. But if you shine a black light on them their lava changes to solid green and blue colors respectively. I imagine doing this on a larger scale as with your Humongo would be quite spectacular.

[Jethro]

Tom, 

Thanks for your comments, they are very helpful.  I kinda like the "prism effect" that you describe.  It's been easy to recondition my Humongo so far because I've only been filtering the water and lighten it a few shades.  But i feel that the Goo has broken down over time as there are solid bits on the bottom and oil at the top.  It also clouds up the water a month or so after filtering.  I've been dreading cleaning the whole lamp and getting the goo out, but your comments on your success gives me something to look forward to.  I have a few Magma goo kits around, did you use any particular type?  I've seen you pics, looks interesting.  Thanks again!

[Chris]

Are all the goo kits sold on ebay transparent or do you have to special order them?

[Tim Gill]

All goo kits start of transparent then may turn solid - there is no special kits to get transparent goo.

I really doubt LL will sell you some goo so the only option is to iver make it yourself or get it from magma tower.

[TomK]

Sorry it took so long to reply Jethro, I just saw your post now. Anyway, what I have done is to purchase every lava color pigment that Magma Tower sells. Then I experiment with them in the lava. The florescent pigments come in green and blue, so what I tried is add 2 parts florescent green to 1 part regular green for one lamp. Next I added 2 parts florescent blue to one part aqua blue for my 2nd lamp. The florescent pigmented lava is solid colored under black light but under the bulb's white light it adopts the transparent prism effect with a slight tint from the solid pigments(green or aqua blue) I used too. Even the little bubbles inside the transparent lava exhibit color changes--it can be a real light show in a dark room! BTW, that Aqua Blue pigment is a terrific color even just used by itself! I have found that using halogen flood or spot lights enhance the color spectral effect too. You can buy them to fit most lamps in the 52oz sizes or bigger. I've been using them in my Century Starlites with great success. If you are worried about excessive heat, I use dimmer switch cords I bought from Amazon.com to custom tune the heat and lava flow. The dimmers are sliding switches on an extension cord that your lamp plugs right into. They are inexpensive--$3 or $4 each. 

Jethro said:

Tom, 

Thanks for your comments, they are very helpful.  I kinda like the "prism effect" that you describe.  It's been easy to recondition my Humongo so far because I've only been filtering the water and lighten it a few shades.  But i feel that the Goo has broken down over time as there are solid bits on the bottom and oil at the top.  It also clouds up the water a month or so after filtering.  I've been dreading cleaning the whole lamp and getting the goo out, but your comments on your success gives me something to look forward to.  I have a few Magma goo kits around, did you use any particular type?  I've seen you pics, looks interesting.  Thanks again!

[Jethro]

Hi Tom,

So is the florescent lava a special goo or is it magma's regular goo with a florescent pigment?

Yes, I like the dimmers too and they are really useful on the larger lamps.

[Tim Gill]

The florescent goo is the regular goo base with magmas tower florescent dye added to it

The dimmers are really useful, especially for larger gookited lamps

Jethro said:

Hi Tom,

So is the florescent lava a special goo or is it magma's regular goo with a florescent pigment?

Yes, I like the dimmers too and they are really useful on the larger lamps.