Epoxy certainly projects the right image

LucyNation Lighting is an event lighting company specialising in ‘atmospheric’ projection using oil wheels to create psychedelic patterns. The wheels consist of three glass segments glued together to create two compartments with a hub in the centre, which are then filled with coloured oils. They are then attached to a projector with high intensity light to project well-defined shapes and patterns onto a surface. 

Over the course of their lifetime, the oil wheels are exposed to high temperatures from the lamps and occasional mishandling, both of which can result in surface fractures and cracks. With a library of over 100 oil wheels, some of which can be expensive to obtain, it makes both environmental and economic sense for LucyNation to repair the cracks in their wheels rather than replace them.

Jason Legge, owner of LucyNation Lighting, says that the company “Experimented with different glass adhesives to find something that had good clarity so that the image is not distorted, or refraction projected out of the join. We found that Opti-tec 5001 Optical Epoxy Adhesive is effective for this purpose, and allows us to continue using the oil wheels past their normal lifespan.” Intertronics confirms that Opti-tec 5001 has high optical clarity with a similar refractive index to the oil wheels, and that the material cures to a hard finish too. Further, its low viscosity allows it to wick into the cracks, helping to seal them against the coloured oils.