SECA 2024 Bubbles Class

Best places to buy the equipment and props:

Italy Bubble equipment: https://www-mondotroll-it.translate.goog/catalog/index.php?cPath=55_56&_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=it

Bubble Garlands, Nets and Poles: https://glowbythebubbler.com/pole-sets/

Also highly recommended: Jimmy Storck’s products: https://magicalbubbles.org/pages/about-us

Best Bubble wand set:

Buy from: https://www.thebubblestore.com/product-page/unbubblieveable-bubble-maker-ubm

Everything you want to know about making bubble solutions: Most important website of all: https://soapbubble.fandom.com/wiki/Soap_Bubble_Wiki

Basic Recipe:

Get your bubble solution right and you’ll solve 95% of all your bubble challenges and problems.

Here's the instructional video: https://youtu.be/NI0d511QQWI?si=vjL46C4QfwzTQ41Fhttps://youtu.be/NI0d511QQWI?si=vjL46C4QfwzTQ41F

Storage of bubble solution: Dark, Cool, Dry and Clean place

All bubble solutions will deteriorate over time.

Adding Bronopol helps a LOT; it’s a preservative. Other broad spectrum anti-bacterial, anti-fungal powders for home aquariums are also very useful.

Award winning recipe:

“Safest” bubble solution:

Guar Gum + 7th gen best for children’s safety: https://youtu.be/bE_0Y0-Y-Yo

Advanced Recipe for those who has a good grasp of chemistry and Science

Dry 5 liter container - very dry

Add in 50 ml of rubbing alcohol

Strength of jLube and HEC can vary a lot

Keep them in the fridge to ensure their consistency

Add in 1/4 tsp of jlube. To Buy J-lube direct from its maker: https://j-lube.net

Stir with spoon / stick

Add in 10 grams of HEC - check Amazon or other online shopping shops to buy HEC: Hydroxy Ethyl Cellulose Powder

Stir with spoon and stick

Immediately add in very hot water until it reaches the 3600ml mark.

Important: the HEC and JLube MUST be very well-mixed before adding in the very hot water. If you see sediments, stir the HEC/JLube mixture again before adding in the hot water.

DO NOT stir the mixture too rigorously. The hot water is sufficient is hydrate the powders. Excessive and rigorous stiring at this stage is counter-productive.

Add in citric acid SOLUTION 2 tablespoon (30 ml) and stir.

How to make the cirtric acid solution:

500 ml of very hot water mixed with 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) of citric acid powder

Wait for the whole mixture to cool completely before adding in Dawn Soap 400ml

You may want to check the acidity using a pH meter.

Add in TINY amounts of citric acid solution if you want to calibrate the acidity further.

Warning: DO NOT over-acidify the mixture because once it’s over-acidified, it’s ruined and CANNOT be fixed.

It’s safer to have the mixture a little over the optimal pH (7.2 - 7.4) than to have a mixture that’s pH 6.8 and below and unusable.

Variables you can change to adapt to different climates:

amount of HEC
amount of Jlube
amount of water (if your location is dry and hot, a large percentage of water in your solution helps a lot)
amount of surfactant (I.e soap)
WARNING: your dishwash soap must not be more than 10% of the completed bubble solution. More does not mean it’s better. Many bubble solutions do well with only 4% to 5% of dishwash soap.

How to dilute the solution to make it light , medium , heavy:

Make a solution of only soap and water. 10% soap and 90% tap water. Now you can add this solution to your bubble mix as and when you need to.

how can we tell if the bubble solution is too thick or too thin?

watch this: https://youtu.be/UGCAy79mtGE?si=0wmkDuDQiqI03WM0

my opinion: the one labeled as “too much PEO/polymer” in the video is still decent for KID-IN-BUBBLE if it’s diluted a little bit more, because the kid-in-bubble is NOT a real bubble, it’s a bubble “tunnel”.

Lastly, consider adding Bronopol and other anti-bateria, anti-fungal preservatives.

what if:

you Don’t want to make your own bubble solution?

Easiest way out: buy concentrate from Dustin Skye: https://bestbubbletools.com/products/blooble-giant-bubble-additive

Or Jimmy Storck: https://magicalbubbles.org/products/magic-bubble-powder-3-bags

How do you know if your bubble solution is decent?

can you make big bubbles like this: https://youtu.be/NI0d511QQWI?si=AY3XoKpwd-Tktqxl
with single dip, blow to form bubbles. Can the liquid from that single dip produce at least 16 small blown bubbles?
can the bubble solution allow you to do the multiple bubble-in-Bubbles trick easily?
make a bubble-in-bubble. Hold the wand and wait. Does the inner bubble merge too quickly with the larger bubble at the bottom? If it does, the bubble solution is too weak.

Basic Bubble Science

all bubbles will pop when with in contact with a non-soapy surface. And oil destroy bubbles. Our skin has oil. If you dip your hands into the bubble solution to do hand bubble tricks, You can naturally expect your bubble solution to go bad faster.

your hands also has bacteria, hence you will have to think about whether or not you want to do hand bubble tricks.

Floor coverings

From Amazon/Walmart online:

Tubes

you can buy these transfer pumps from Amazon/Home Depot, etc

Just cut the siphon pump off to get a tube. Various sizes available.

Plexiglass tubes are more expensive but I don't like them simply because I feel they hold too much liquid. They look like this: https://www.eplastics.com/shapes/plexiglass/tube?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIivSqw_vf4gIVBr7ACh2jHA9bEAAYAiAAEgJi-PD_BwE

The dealers will cut them to any size you want.

FOAM is one of your bubble tricks enemy : Scoop away as much foam as you can if you have difficulty doing any of your bubble tricks. You don't want foam on your wands, dish, tubes. You want your equipment to hold bubble juice, NOT foam. You can make reduce the amount of foam by spraying them with a solution of 70% isopropanol and 30% water.

White “smoke” Foggers / white fog bubbles

Dustin Skye’s props:

https://bestbubbletools.com/products/fogger-adapter-kit-for-geekvape-z-sub-ohm-2021-5-5ml-atomizer

Contact Dustin on his Facebook and messenger: https://www.facebook.com/dustin.skye

You can also reach him here: https://bestbubbletools.com/pages/contact

Info on kid-in-bubble:

FILL the MOAT AS MUCH AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE with the bubble solution. When there is too little bubble solution, it’s very hard to get the large bubble BECAUSE the bubble will touch the non-wet parts of the moat. And of course, all bubbles will pop when in contact with a surface that is not wet or soapy. Example of a moat that has too little bubble solution:
the bigger the OUTER and INNER ring, the better.
watch video: https://youtu.be/LLwQ82YfMik?si=KpEAxBhCSTbR-MqP
As mentioned in class, DO NOT buy a Kid-in-bubble set that has small outer OR inner ring
Example of a bad one:

see how good my kid-in-bubble moat is:

Additional tips on kid-in-bubble:

do not shake the wand, simply submerge and lift wand in a single, controlled and deliberate action. Shaking creates too much foam. Foam is not good for kid-in-bubble
Quick way to remove foam/small bubbles: 70% isopropanol alcohol spray

Notes about making your own poles/equipment:

Your string must be able to hold AND release liquid

Weight is a problem, if a wand is too heavy, you will have problems lifting and swinging them around.

You can buy Cheap toy wands from China via AliExpress/Amazon.

Best Facebook groups