White residue inside lamp.

[Dave]

Hello all,

I'm new here and this is my first post.  Found this site and seemed like a great place to ask about an issue I'm having with one of my lamps.  I have a white residue inside the lamp (not those white dots, I know those are glass imperfections, I mean the white smearing at the bottom and going up to the top, most prevalent at the bottom 3 inches), and was wondering the best way to rid of it.

Was thinking of emptying the whole thing (I have no problem popping the cap and doing that) and buying one of those goo kits, or do you think there is any way to salvage this?

I've attached a picture.

Thanks!

[Joanne]

MIght want to try cleaning the inside . that means when its cold pouring out the liquid into a clean bottle , save that . heat the wax up and pour that into a warmed up mason jar cap and set aside . snag the wire spring circle out and scrub that clean .   extremely hot water and dish soap , and i use a piece of a kitchen scrubby and a dowel rod to scrub the inside of the globe . rinse well . then i would pour some of the liquid back in , put the spring in  and swish it good to 'coat ' and pour most of that back into the bottle. heat the mason jar of wax carefully in a pan of water then use a funnel ( i make an extension of clear packing tape so the end of the funnel is a few inches above the bottom of the globe ) pour all the wax back in . let it cool and then add the liquid back in and give it a go ! it might fix it .

[Dave]

Thanks, going to do that, but wish to change the liquid to a clear, and spray paint the base black, 2 questions;

Does anyone have a good formula for liquid? I've heard of using distilled water / Epsom salts / dish washing liquid, but don't know the ratio, the globe is your typical 52 ounce globe bought at Spencers.

Was going to use some standard Rustoleum spray paint, do you think it will matter if I spray the inside of the base, where the light sits? As long as I cover the light socket I don't think it would be a big deal, but was curious about spray paint and the heat when the lamp is operating.

Thanks again.

[Jus]

Everybody's pretty much found out dishsoap causes problems sooner or later-use kid's bubble solution for surf, much better.

Have you determined whether that film is actually on the in or outside of the glass?

Outside filming can be reduced with a light application of oil (wd/40, silicone, furn.polish, maybe baby oil, never tried that) but haven't found much else to budjit...

U should ask Loren about the paint; I bet he will know.

Good luck!

[Dave]

It's definitely on the inside.  I've already boiled the globe and have the wax removed, it's currently cooling a little before I take a bottle brush to it and clean it real well.

I've decided not to paint it, clear liquid with black wax I think will look better with the silver base rather than a black base, don't want to over do it on the black.

I don't have kids bubble solution (I don't have kids!), so I'm going to try the dish washing liquid and see how it goes.  Thanks for the tip on the WD-40!

[Gwen Williams]

If you use dish soap it will break down the wax far faster, best bet really is making a run to any store and getting some bubble solution, it's cheap and makes for a longer lasting lamp with no bubbles in the wax