How to Make Neon Signs at Home

EL wire is the go-to material for most people when it comes to making neon signs at home. Never heard of it? Well, EL stands for electroluminescent, and EL wire is essentially a flexible rope-like light you can bend however you like – it’s perfect for making the kinds of cursive, stylish designs that typify neon lighting.

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of how to make neon signs using EL wire, you’ll need to assemble your supplies.

• Paper
• A pencil
• Some metal wire
• EL wire (around 15’ to 20’ should suffice for most projects)
• Some batteries (check to see which variety your EL wire needs)
• String
• Wire cutters
• A glue gun
• Scissors

With all your supplies and tools assembled, you’re ready to get to work:

1. Sketch out your desired design using your pencil and paper. Words in cursive text are popular, but you’re free to choose whatever you like – you could draw a shape or create a custom logo, for example, as long as it’s formed in one continuous line, without gaps.
2. Use your string to trace along the line of your design. This will help you measure how much wire you’re going to need.
3. Cut the correct length of wire using your cutters. Then bend the piece of wire to match the design. Take the time you need to get the shape just right.
4. Use the glue gun and hot glue to carefully attach the EL wire to the metal wire. Start at the end with the battery pack – you may even want to start gluing the wire a few inches away from the pack to prevent it from hanging off the end awkwardly.

That’s it! You’ll need to give your design time to dry before hanging it, and you may have to cut off some of the excess wire if it isn’t needed. Then, once the light is dry, you can hang it up, switch it on, and start enjoying it.

Alternatively, you can also make neon signs using simple LED flex lights. This won’t quite give you the same glow and luminescence as genuine neon lighting. But it’s cheap, easy, and a fun DIY project to try if you’re on a low budget.

Once more, you’ll need to assemble the relevant items before you start work:

• LED flex lights
• Conductor wire
• A base of some kind, which could be wood or plastic
• Wire cutters
• Thread
• Soldering iron
• A drill
• Some glue

With all your materials ready to go, follow the steps below to craft a fabulous neon-style sign:

1. Decide on your design – you can use a pencil and paper to sketch it out, or take the high-tech approach of using design software on your computer.
2. Print off or prepare your design and then run some thread along it from start to finish. That will show you how long it is and how much lighting you require.
3. Cut your LED strip lights to the appropriate length – make sure you cut in the right places or you could risk damaging the lights.
4. Run the strips along each part of your design, cutting when you get to the end of a letter or shape.
5. Drill holes at the end of each strip, and then use your solder and conductor wire to join the sections together and keep the current flowing.
6. Glue your LED lights in place, leave it all to dry, and then mount your light.

Learning how to make neon signs isn’t too much of a challenge. But it requires time, effort, and some specialist equipment, too. If all of that sounds like too much hassle, you might prefer something a little easier. How about a site that lets you create your design, but then does all the hard work for you?

Say hello to Neon Signs Now. At Neon Signs Now, you have the power to craft your own neon sign design with the custom text or art you want. Then, you get to sit back and relax while our hard-working staff put your lights together.

• Easy Customization: Making your own signs from scratch is hard work. But creating custom lights at Neon Signs Now is about as easy as it gets! You just have to either type in some text and pick a font, or upload your own custom artwork.
• Top Quality: Why settle for second best? Neon Signs Now delivers top-notch neon lighting made of only the finest materials. Each one will last for a whopping 50,000 hours of luminescence – that will keep you going for years of use! Plus, they look a lot more professional than LED strips.
• Unbeatable Value: Many people feel priced out of neon signs, but that’s not the case at Neon Signs Now. We keep our costs down and pass the savings onto you, with fair prices across the full catalog. Even creating your own custom design won’t break the bank.

If you like the idea of making your own neon signs, but prefer a simpler approach, pick Neon Signs Now. Check out our custom neon sign creation process and start making your dream lights today.