DIY Neon Sign Tutorial

If you’re a lover of all things crafty or are simply thrifty, try your hand at a DIY Neon Sign! It’ll make a great project to do on your own, with your friends, family or significant other. Read on for a step-by-step tutorial on creating your own neon sign.

The materials you’ll need are as follows: –

• 5m EL Wire in the colour of your choice
• Acrylic Sheet (in this tutorial, we used a 41cm by 16cm sheet)
• Black Shrink Tubes
• Super Glue
• Battery Pack
• Marker
• Scotch/Masking Tape
• Heat source

You can get these materials at any hardware and electronic store as well.

This tutorial will be broken down into 4 parts

A. Neon Sign Design & Drilling of Holes in Acrylic Sheet

B. Trace the Design using the EL Wire

C. Heat Shrink Technique to hide wire

D. Assemble Battery & Light Up!

A. Neon Sign Design & Drilling of Holes in Acrylic Sheet

1. Draw/print out the design on paper, ensure that the lines are similar to the thickness of the EL wire.
2. Identify the breakpoints* on paper and circle them out. The wire will need to be hidden behind the acrylic sheet at these points.
3. Redraw the breakpoints on the acrylic in marker.
4. Drill a hole in the breakpoints

*Break Points: Any sharp corners, where the line disconnects, where there will be an overlap of lines.

Using the above example, the 3 tips between the “M” are sharp corners, the breakpoints between the “M” and “e” is where the line will disconnect, to separate the letters and the “l” is where there will be an overlapping of the line, in order to get the wire up and back down to connect to the next letter.

B. Trace the Design using the EL Wire

1. Insert about 7cm of the shrink tube at the start of the EL wire and insert the wire from the back of the first hole to the front of the acrylic.
2. Begin tracing the design with EL wire.
3. Use tape to secure EL wire to acrylic.
4. At breakpoints, insert EL wire through a hole, from the front to the back of the acrylic and insert an appropriate length of shrink tube to the next breakpoint.

5. Ensure the design is to your liking, if not you can make the necessary adjustments and retape the wire down.
6. Use small drops of super glue on different parts to stick the wire down to the acrylic.
7. After applying the glue, tape the wire back down so the shape holds whilst the glue is drying.

C. Heat Shrink Technique to hide wire

1. Flip the sign around
2. Use a lighter to heat the shrink tubes on the correct parts until its securely attached to the EL wire

D. Assemble Battery & Light Up!

1. Insert 2AA batteries into the battery pack
2. Clip the battery pack to the EL wire
3. Light it up and enjoy your DIY Neon Sign!

Congratulations, you’ve just made your very own neon sign! Use it as décor in your living or workspaces or gift it to your friends and family.

If you’re really liking your DIY neon sign and are considering getting one professionally made using business-grade materials and workmanship, contact NeonLife! We’ve customised unique and wonderful neon signs for our clients across walks of life from major hotel chains to F&B outlets, homes, weddings, fitness centres, and corporate offices. We are a team of skilled designers and LED neon craftsmen that keep the craft creative and original. We ensure to keep the process hassle-free for you through a three-step process. We’ll be glad to craft the perfect, relevant neon sign that caters in the best look and right mood. Feel free to reach out to the Neon Life Team at +65 90888270/ hello@neonlife.store.