Warning and Note!
When making liquids plates...
First and foremost:
The clock faces and plate glass used for most of the liquid effects described herein are usually shipped and sold in a rough cut state. This means the edges are sharp enough to cut through skin VERY easily, and this will happen if mishandled or handled indiscriminately.
It is very important to thoroughly sand and smooth all edges before trying any of these effects. I have used emery cloth and Dremels with fine sanding disks to great advantage. You must take great care and the utmost of responsibility with all glassware before attempting any effect. During a show you will be too busy and focused elsewhere to notice and accidents will happen.
Work smart!
Secondly, and most important to successful liquids!
All glassware needs to be CLEAN! Very clean. We use hot water and ammonia to wash everything … multiple times if necessary. Water should sheet as it runs down the glass during rinsing with NO sticking or streaking. Joshua Light Show and Joe’s Lights brought dishwashers everywhere they went and even chose a specific cleaner because of its clean rinsing properties.
When making a plate which will have water and oil, the water is always put into the bottom plate before any oil is added, and you watch carefully as you add the water to see if it spreads cleanly and coats the glass well. We used to rinse the surface with clear water before making a plate. The top plate’s bottom side is rinsed with water to be sure of the sheeting before being placed carefully on the oil and water within the bottom plate. If any water streaks or sticks the oil will also stick to the places which seem dry and the plate will be unusable save as a squash type.
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