The Metallic Wax Techique

[Dr. WHAT?!]

This lamp above was one of my first attempts for the metallic sharpie technique. Been almost a year since this was made and what I've noticed with the metallic wax technique is that it's not permanent. The base of the metallic ink seems to eventually separate a little and stay at the bottom. Now it's being run for 9 months at 8 hours a day 5 days a week may have a effect on the separation or it may not. So I decided to dye the wax red and in the pics below you can clearly see the separation but whats really cool, in a way, that it has a swirling of metallic ink! Reminds me of old school bowling balls lol. Even once in a while a bubble of nothing but ink will burst in the wax and it looks like a firework, its really bizarre but really cool as well.

[Llava Bllonde]

Can someone post me a link to the sharpie directions if there is one? I am struggling to understand how to get the ink from the sharpie to the wax, and did you seperate the fluid first? and a million other questions. Thanks.

[Sean Ivey]

This is the one I found that initially encouraged me to try this.

http://oozinggoo.ning.com/profiles/blogs/creating-a-metallic-lava-lamp

I think the idea is you get some kind of plastic tube or felt that is soaked in the sharpie ink when you open the marker. You have to ‘milk’ it to get the ink out. Hold it over the goo and squeeze it from the top.

Llava Bllonde said:

Can someone post me a link to the sharpie directions if there is one? I am struggling to understand how to get the ink from the sharpie to the wax, and did you seperate the fluid first? and a million other questions. Thanks.

[Sean Ivey]

Metallic looking goo has my interest. Copper happens to be the color I’d like best. I’ve got a 52oz Lava Lite made lamp with lackluster flow I can experiment with. The magmatower goo kit looks like the way to go for me. The Dr.WHAT?! tutorial (Thank you!) has me confident I can handle experimenting with ways to get the goo to have a metallic copper look. I’m not afraid of making a mess. Kitchen countertops are supposed to have a few stains. As long as I keep in mind things will get skin burning hot and a sealed bottle can explode if I get stupid about heat and fluid expansion it is a safe hobby. I’m content with learning by doing. I’m appreciative of anyone willing to share their experience points. Once I have some I’ll share mine.

 

Avoiding pigment/goo separation seems to be the trick, yes? Do the dyes normally used actually bond with the goo? Or is the material density so close to the goo’s that is doesn’t separate?

 

I was thinking of trying dip pen ink and stamp pad ink. It would not surprise me if they end up working like the Sharpie ink and eventually separating. The cost is pretty low so experimenting is worth it to me. Unless someone has already tried them. Asking that is actually the point of this rambling post.

 

Stamp pad ink – metallic copper

http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewing/Colorbox-Metallic-Copper-Ink...

 

Copper Metallic Pigmented Calligraphy Ink

http://www.thewritingpenstore.com/p-395-j-herbin-metallic-pigmented...

 

If I heat the goo (in a measuring cup that is in a hot, not boiling, pan of water) and add the ink before the goo ever contacts any surfactant do you think that might make a difference? The idea is to mix the goo and ink before any surfactant coats anything. I’m also planning to add the ink in very small amounts. Too much metal and the Magma Tower goo density would change enough that the distilled water it is designed to flow in wouldn’t float it. I’m not interested in messing with other goo suspension fluid mixtures. I say that now but if I managed to get a great metallic copper color goo that didn’t separate you can bet I’d get interested in making glycerin messes. Catch-22 on a goo that didn’t separate without a suspension fluid that allows good flow. ;)

 

How noob are these ideas? Anyone been there and done that?

[Dr. WHAT?!]

I've tried oil based inks they seem to fizzle out and do nothing with gookit wax. I know the silver sharpies that I've used are not oil based.

[Dr. WHAT?!]

Okay even after all this time, I'm still scratching my head on a permanent metallic wax solution and came across this.

http://msdsop.newellrubbermaid.com/downloads/SharpieMetallic_39100.pdf

Any super scientific goo heads out there that can find out what these ingredients are? maybe this can help us find a answer to making metallic goo stand up to the test of time like the liquid metal lamps do.

[Keith]

I'm not a chemist and don't know what these actually are, but it is interesting.  This did catch my eye though:

Silver ONLY: nitroparaffin solvent (79-24-3,108-03-2), butanol (71-36-3)

No idea what nitroparaffin is but it could be what is bonding the metallic pigments to the goo (paraffin based)

Dr. WHAT?! said:

Okay even after all this time, I'm still scratching my head on a permanent metallic wax solution and came across this.

http://msdsop.newellrubbermaid.com/downloads/SharpieMetallic_39100.pdf

Any super scientific goo heads out there that can find out what these ingredients are? maybe this can help us find a answer to making metallic goo stand up to the test of time like the liquid metal lamps do.

[Dr. WHAT?!]

That's what I thought too, I googled nitroparrfin and didn't really find anything other then a bunch of scientific stuff that didn't make any sense lol

[Nancy]

Could you use a metallic crayons for the coloring?

[Ben]

Dr. What?! inspired me to create a metallic lava lamp. I ordered MICA powder and I have a few different types of wax dye. I typically use wax and surfactant from Magmatower as it's really simple  After the MICA powder came in I decided to research how to make a metallic lamp and came across this thread. I got discouraged after seeing it however  the talk of using vintage lava and the powder sinking to the bottom got me thinking about some early experiments I did with perchlorate and paraffin wax.  The lava would move inside the globs floating in the lamp and I thought that might help circulate the powder  To make a long story short I just got it working after several attempts and I think it came out awesome!  Here is a picture of the lamp and a video I uploaded to Dropbox.  What do you guys think?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yu4ayrzlu3brasz/2019-02-26%2013.36.07.mp4...

[Dr. WHAT?!]

That looks awesome! Reminds me of a Mathmos Glitterball.I'm curious on how much mica you put in and do you see the mica settling around the coil at all?  Would love to see your step by step on this.

Another option I wanted to try but haven't yet ( I did buy it) is aluminum powder, its used in makeup.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242478521/silver-aluminum-metallic-pow...

[ash-hole!]

Wow, now that is awesome! I would love a tutorial, please!

Ben said:

Dr. What?! inspired me to create a metallic lava lamp. I ordered MICA powder and I have a few different types of wax dye. I typically use wax and surfactant from Magmatower as it's really simple  After the MICA powder came in I decided to research how to make a metallic lamp and came across this thread. I got discouraged after seeing it however  the talk of using vintage lava and the powder sinking to the bottom got me thinking about some early experiments I did with perchlorate and paraffin wax.  The lava would move inside the globs floating in the lamp and I thought that might help circulate the powder  To make a long story short I just got it working after several attempts and I think it came out awesome!  Here is a picture of the lamp and a video I uploaded to Dropbox.  What do you guys think?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yu4ayrzlu3brasz/2019-02-26%2013.36.07.mp4...

[Claude J]

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