How Neon Signs Are Made

Neon Bulb

Neon bulbs are used throughout the world as indicating lights. Other gases are available to produce bulbs with varying and dazzling colors. These bulbs indicate whether water is flowing from the water purification plant to our house or whether the water is pouring out all over Main St. They indicate whether the hand brake is on in our car and whether our gas tank is nearing empty. We rely on these kinds of bulbs for a variety of things, including denoting whether the power is on for this monitor you are looking at.

The neon bulb can be used as an alternative electroscope to determine electric charge. When one electrode of the bulb is brought into contact with an object that is charged, a flash occurs. The neon bulb contains two electrodes in a space filled with neon gas. The light inside the neon bulb occurs nearest the negatively charged electrode (or cathode). When the bulb is lit with the 9-V transistor batteries note that the side of the bulb that is lit is always the side connected to the negative voltage of the batteries. If you switch the battery leads, the side of the bulb that lights will also switch. The light will always occur near the negatively charged electrode whether the source of charge is from a battery or from static charge.



The voltage difference causes an electric field to form which accelerates the electrons released by the cathode (negative electrode). These fast electrons then collide with the neon gas in the bulb causing the neon atom to lose an electron (ionization) or to shift an electron to a higher energy state (excited state). When the excited electron decays to a lower energy state or when the positive neon atom collects a free electron, energy will be released by the neon atom in the form of a photon or light flash. This causes the the red-orange light characteristic of neon. The flash occurs nearest the negative electrode because that is where the neon atom is most likely excited.

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Neon Architectural Terms

Arc: A line segment that is deflected at a certain angle to form a curve.
Awning: A shelter constructed of non-rigid materials on a supporting framework which projects from and is supported by an exterior wall of a building

Balustrade: An entire railing system (as along the edge of a balcony) including a top rail and its balusters, and sometimes a bottom rail
Canopy: A permanent roof structure attached to and supported by a building projecting over public property, but does not include a projected roof.
Capitals: The crowning feature of a column or pilaster
Coffer: To create a surface using recessed panels in ceilings, vaults or domes.
Column(A): A vertical support. Decorative columns usually consist of a base, circular shaft, and spreading capital.
Dome: A curved roof structure, more or less hemispherical in shape, covering an area.
Facade: The front or principle entrance of a building.
Pediment: In Classical architecture, a triangular piece of wall above the entablature.
Statuary: A collection of statues
Vault: An arched covering in stone or brick over any building.

Neon Lighting Terms

Chase:1) The illusion of movement in neon tubes or incandescent bulbs created by turning the light sources on and off in sequence. Chasing is more closely related to animated signs than to flashing. It is achieved by using a "chaser", and electrical component which can be programmed to provide the on and off sequence.
2) To decorate metal, typically by engraving or cutting.

• Column(B): Vertical rows of lamps in a lamp bank, or a vertical row of light emitting diodes in an LED matrix.
  
• Cove lighting: A type of indirect decorative illumination that is created by placing either neon or fluorescent tubes inside a light box to produce a halo effect.
  
• Double Neon: Each letter is formed with two lines of tubing, to give the appearance of varying strokes of letters.
  
• Exterior illumination: Illumination that is provided from a source separate from the sign
  
• Fiber optic display: A type of sign that transmits its message utilizing light directed through thread-like fibers of glass or plastic.
  
• Flash: to shine (a light) suddenly and usually brightly, but only for a short time
  
• Flasher: A mechanical device designed to interrupt the electrical current in a sign at regular intervals, turning the light source on and off.
  
• Halo: A ring of light. In sign making, the effect achieved by reverse channel letters, which appear to be ringed by light because the light source is reflecting on the background from which the letters are pegged out.
  
• Incandescent bulb: An electric lamp consisting essentially of a glass or quartz bulb, evacuated or filled with an inert gas in which a filament, commonly of tungsten, gives off light when it is heated to incandescence by electric current.
  
• Intensity: The density or opaqueness of a color. Also, the amount of light put out by a lamp.
  
• Internally illuminated: A sign which is lighted through the use of internal electric fixtures or lamp banks.
  
• LCD (liquid crystal display): A type of electronic changeable copy sign utilizing liquid crystals that become opaque or clear when exposed to a controlled voltage. They are sometimes used in time and temperature displays.
  
• LED (light-emitting diode): A type of electronic changeable copy sign that utilizes hundreds of light-emitting diodes - electronic ship and colored lens assemblies - in single and tri-color matrixes. LEDs are physically flexible and inexpensive to operate when compared with other message centers.
  
• Matrix: The number and amount of lighting units in a changeable message sign.
  
• Neon: A tasteless, colorless, inert gas. When an electric current is discharged through it, neon produces a reddish-orange glow. Neon is also used synonymously with a type of luminous tube sign where a glass tube is bent to a desired shape, fitted with an electrode at each end, the atmosphere is pumped and burned out, and the resulting vacuum is filled with a rare gas, such as neon, helium, argon, mercury vapor or a combination of gases.
  
• Oscilation: To move repeatedly from one position to another. A wave or an electric current which oscillates changes regularly in strength or direction.
  
• Pulse: A pulse is also a short burst of energy which is repeated regularly, such as a brief loud sound or a brief flash of light.
  
• Radiate: to produce (heat and/or light), or (of heat or light) to be produced. to spread out in all directions (from a central point). itself, such as a spotlight. Indirectly illuminated.

Repairing Historic Sign Materials

Porcelain Enamel. Porcelain enamel is among the most durable of materials used in signs.(8) Made of glass bonded onto metal (usually steel) at high temperatures, it keeps both its high gloss and its colors for decades. Since the surface of the sign is essentially glass, porcelain enamel is virtually maintenance free; dirt can be washed off with soap and water and other glass cleaners.

Porcelain enamel signs can be damaged by direct blows from stones and other sharp objects. If both the enamel surface and the undercoat are scratched, the metal surface can rust at the impact site. Because the bond between glass and metal is so strong, however, the rust does not "travel" behind the glass, and the rust is normally confined to localized areas. The sign edges can also rust if they were never enamelled. To treat the problem, clean the rust off carefully, and touchup the area with cold enamel (a type of epoxy used mostly in jewelry), or with enamel paints.

Dents in porcelain enamel signs should be left alone. Attempting to hammer them out risks further damage.

Goldleaf or Gilding. Goldleaf or gilding is both elegant and durable. These properties made it among the most popular sign materials in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Surface-gilded signs (for example, gilded raised letters or symbols found on the exterior) typically last about 40 years. Damage to these signs occurs from weather and abrasion. Damage to gilded signs on glass normally occurs when the protective coating applied over the gilding is removed by harsh cleaning chemicals or scratched by scrub brushes. The sign can then flake upon subsequent cleanings.

Historic gilded signs can be repaired, typically by regilding damaged areas. An oil size is painted on the surface. The gold leaf is applied when the surface has become sufficiently "tacky." Similarly, historic "reverse on glass" goldleaf signs can be repaired--by experts. A sample of the flaking sign is first taken to determine its composition. Reverse on glass signs use goldleaf ranging from 12 to 23 karats. The gold is alloyed with copper and silver in varying amounts for differences in color. (Surface gilding--on raised letters, picture frames and statehouse domes--uses 23 karat gold. Pure gold, 24 karat, is too soft to use in such applications.) The damaged portions of the sign are then regilded in the same manner as they were done historically: the inside surface of the glass is coated with a gelatin; gold leaves about three inches square are then spread over the area. The new letter or design is then drawn in reverse on the new leaf, and coated with a backing paint (normally a chrome yellow). With the new design thus sealed, the rest of the leaf is removed. The sign is then sealed with a clear, water-resistant varnish.



Gilded signs, both surface and reverse on glass, can be cleaned gently with soap and water, using a soft cloth. Additionally, for glass signs, the varnish backing should be replaced every seven years at the latest.

Neon. Neon signs can last 50 years, although 20-25 years is more typical. When a neon sign fails, it is not because the gas has "failed," but because the system surrounding it has broken down. The glass tubes have been broken, for example, thus letting the gas escape, or the electrodes or transformers have failed. If the tube is broken, a new one must be made by a highly skilled "glass bender." After the hot glass tube has been shaped, it must undergo "purification" before being refilled with gas.



The glass and the metal electrode at the end of the tube are heated in turns. As these elements become hot, surface impurities burn off into the tube. The resulting vapor is then removed through "evacuation" -- the process of creating a vacuum. Only then is the "neon" gas (neon or mercury-argon) added. Neon gives red light, mercury-argon produces blue. Other colors are produced by using colored glass and any of dozens of phosphor coatings inside the tube. Green, for example, can be produced by using mercury-argon in yellow glass. Since color is so important in neon signs, it is vital to determine the original color or colors. A neon studio can accomplish this using a number of specialized techniques.

A failing transformer can cause the neon sign to flicker intensely, and may have to be replaced. Flickering neon can also indicate a problem with the gas pressure inside the tube. The gas may be at too high or too low a pressure. If so, the gas must be repumped.


Repairs to neon signs also include repairs to the surrounding components of the sign. The "metal cans" that often serve as backdrops to the tubing may need cleaning or, in case of rust, scraping and repainting.

As with gilded signs, repair of neon signs is not a matter for amateurs.

New Signs and Historic Buildings

Preserving old signs is one thing. Making new ones is another. Closely related to the preservation of historic signs on historic buildings is the subject of new signs for historic buildings. Determining what new signs are appropriate for historic buildings, however, involves a major paradox: Historic sign practices were not always "sympathetic" to buildings. They were often unsympathetic to the building, or frankly contemptuous of it. Repeating some historic practices, therefore, would definitely not be recommended.

Yet many efforts to control signage lead to bland sameness. For this reason the National Park Service discourages the adoption of local guidelines that are too restrictive, and that effectively dictate uniform signs within commercial districts. Instead, it encourages communities to promote diversity in signs--their sizes, types, colors, lighting, lettering and other qualities. It also encourages business owners to choose signs that reflect their own tastes, values, and personalities. At the same time, tenant sign practices can be stricter than sign ordinances. The National Park Service therefore encourages businesses to fit their sign programs to the building.

The following points should be considered when designing and constructing new signs for historic buildings:

signs should be viewed as part of an overall graphics system for the building. They do not have to do all the "work" by themselves. The building's form, name and outstanding features, both decorative and functional, also support the advertising function of a sign. Signs should work with the building, rather than against it.

• New signs should respect the size, scale and design of the historic building. Often features or details of the building will suggest a motify for new signs.
  
• Sign placement is important: new signs should not obscure significant features of the historic building. (Signs above a storefront should fit within the historic signboard, for example.)
  
• New signs should also respect neighboring buildings. They should not shadow or overpower adjacent structures.
  
• Sign materials should be compatible with those of the historic building. Materials characteristic of the building's period and style, used in contemporary designs, can form effective new signs.
  
• New signs should be attached to the building carefully, both to prevent damage to historic fabric, and to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Fittings should penetrate mortar joints rather than brick, for example, and signloads should be properly calculated and distributed.

The making of the Harvey Nichols Neon Sign

Handcrafted Real Glass Tube Neon Sign

High impact, eye catching, real glass tube neon sign. This feature glow can attract customers like nothing else, practically burning your characteristics into the minds of potential and future customers. Neon signs can be left on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year...for decades. There is no light form in continuation that has the visual impact of neon.

This is a 100% hand crafted, real glass tube neon sign. Made by an experienced neon glass bender.

Honda Logo Automobile Bar Sign Neon Clock

Honda Motor Company, Ltd is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan.The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooters, robots, jets and jet engines, ATV, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies. Honda's line of luxury cars are branded Acura in North America. More recently they have ventured into mountain bikes.

Honda is the 6th largest automobile manufacturer in the world as well as the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. In August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the 4th largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Currently, Honda is the second largest manufacturer in Japan behind Toyota and ahead of Nissan.

Honda is headquartered in 1-1, Minami-Aoyama Nichome, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland.

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Neon Pepsi

Pepsi is a soft drink produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in many places such as retail stores, restaurants, schools, cinemas and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1880s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was trademarked on June 16, 1903. There have been many Pepsi variants produced over the years since 1898.

The Pepsi-Cola Company became the first major American corporation to market to black communities, and it hired a team of black professionals to do the marketing.

From 1947 to 1951, Pepsi had a "special markets" team - at its height comprising 12 black men - whose job was to sell the soft drink to what was then called "the Negro market." It was not until two decades later that the rest of American business caught up and showed the same commitment to selling to black customers and hiring black employees, according to an exhibit at the Queens Museum of Art, in New York.

Pepsi's groundbreaking move was made mainly for business reasons. America came out of World War II with a booming economy, but one that was remarkably segregated along racial lines. Black community leaders were urging major companies to advertise in black newspapers, stressing that the 14 million African Americans represented a gold mine of potential customers.

Pepsi, which had been established only a few years earlier, was an underdog struggling against the giant Coca-Cola brand. Pepsi saw an opportunity, said Stephanie Capparell, author of The Real Pepsi Challenge, a 2007 book that recounts the episode.

Dance Neon Signs

The signification of dance, is predicated of the love of spiritual truth, and signifies its pleasantness or gladness. In olden times gladness of heart was attested not only by musical instruments and songs, but also by dances. For joy of the heart, or interior joy, burst forth in the body into various acts, as into songs, and also into dances. And as in ancient times the gladness which excelled all others were spiritual gladness, that is, were from the affections of spiritual loves, which were those of good and truth, therefore also it was then allowed to add dances to the songs and musical harmonies, and in these ways also to testify joy. It is from this that dances are mentioned in the Word, and by them are signified gladness of the affections of truth or of faith, from good or charity, as in these passages.

Making a Neon Sign

Hollow glass tubes used to make neon lamps arrive in 4, 5 and 8 ft lengths. To form the tubes, the glass is heated by lit gas and forced air. Several composition of glass are used depending on the country and supplier. What is called 'Soft' glass has composition including lead glass, soda-lime glass, and barium glass. "Hard" glass in the borosilicate family unit is also used. Depending on the glass work, the working range of glass is from 1600'F to over 2200'F. The temperature of the air-gas flame depending on the fuel and ratio, is about 3000'F using propane gas.

The tubes are scored (partial cut) while cold with a file and then snapped separately while hot. Then the artisans create the angle and curve combinations. When the tubing is over, the tube most be processed. This process varies depending on country; the process is called "bombarding" in the US. The tube is half-done evacuated of air. Next, it is short circuited with high voltage current until the tube reaches a temperature of 550 F. Then the tube is evacuated again until it reaches a vacuum of 10-3 tore. Argon or neon is back filled to a exact pressure depending on the diameter of the tube and sealed off. In the case of an argon-filled tube, additional steps are taken for the injection of mercury; classically, 10-40ul depending on tube length and climate it is to operate in.

Red is the color neon gas produces, neon gas glows with its feature red light even at atmospheric pressure. There are now more than 150 colors possible; approximately every color other than red is produced using argon, mercury and phosphor. Neon tubes actually refer to all positive-column discharge lamps, regardless of the gas filling. The colors in order of discovery were blue (Mercury), white (Co2), gold (Helium), red (Neon), and then different colors from phosphor-coated tubes. The mercury spectrum is rich in ultraviolet light which in turn excites a phosphor coating on the inside of the tube to flame. Phosphors are obtainable in most any pastel colors.