New to lava lamps - how do these look?

[Ryan K]

I just got my first lamp 2 weeks ago, and now I have four. They are all 52 oz from Spencers. I don't know how they compare to "good" lamps in terms of flow and clarity, but I really like 2 of them.

From left to right: neon pink/clear, white/pink, and purple/blue.

http://youtu.be/WXYf7-c3fOM

http://youtu.be/R4gGPEVRAGU

Here are videos of a blue/pink. I did it separately because I was cycling it 4 on/4 off for a couple of days. (I had thought it was cloudy, but I think it was just that it was so dark, I couldn't see it)

http://youtu.be/e-TirpnlBoY

http://youtu.be/Fkbg3pdP5_0

I really like the first two. You can't see the neon pink in the video, but in person, it's very hot pink. The video shows the white/pink as what it looks like in the picture, but in person you can't see white at all, it's pink. The other two...basically I hate them. They actually look waaay better in the video than they do in person, especially the blue/pink-that one actually looks really nice in the vid. In person, I really can't see them at all unless I get up really close. I don't know if it's just these color combinations or what, but they are dark and do not give off any lamp type of glow at all. Are all dark colors like this? If I want to be able to see them and get some glow, do I just need to go with light colors?

I also bought my brother the neon green with neon green base for Christmas, and I think that one is beautiful. It's crystal clear. So the neons seem to be winners, in my experience so far. The reason I bought so many in a couple of weeks (one at a time, I kept going back) is because they ended up being less than $20 with a coupon, and I realized I loved how relaxing and calming they can be. I just always thought of lava lamps as dorm room accessories, but now they are like aquariums to me. So I  guess I've got the bug. :) I have already ordered a glitter globe from Kirk to put on one of those bases with a dark globe.

[Jus]

They look really pretty to me!

[Keith]

I think dark water with white wax works well, not so much with other wax colors.  One thing you can do is sun fade the globes.  By placing them in a sunny window for several days the water color should fade.  Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't fade too much!  This method takes longer in the winter so it could take a few weeks actually.  The good thing is the globes don't look cloudy and the flow looks better than average, and since they are new may get to flowing even better.

[Keith]

I might look into getting that blue wax one and fading it to clear, cause I wants a blue/clear 52!

[Ryan K]

Keith, would it not be easier to just replace the liquid with water if I wanted a clear liquid? I may try that. 

[Keith]

You would have to use distilled water, a surfactant, and something to make the water more dense.  Some people use epsom salt for this, I prefer to use propylene glycol.

[Ryan K]

Meh, it seems the flow on all of them now is floating balls. They definitely seemed more lava - like before. Oh well...can't wait to get the glitter. 

[Aladdin 2 Lava]

Ryan...Try pouring off the fluid a little at a time and replace with DI water to get a better flow. Keep the fluid you remove in case the flow goes to much the other way !

I've done this a couple of times with flow you described, it doesn't make the wax any more stretchy but should stop it hanging at the top.

Worth a try if you're gonna dump the fluid anyways !