Lighting up a Coke sign

[Gus68]

Hey guys! Recently we parted out an old Coke machine at work that went bad, and I nabbed the large red plexiglass panel off of the front that says Coke. My plan is to make a simple flat box with 1x4s and a plywood back with the Coke panel on the front and light it up!! The troule is the panel is 3' 6" by 2ft, so I cant fit the normal cheapie floresent light in there. I was wondering about using christmass lights or ropelights, but they might not be bright enough or maybe get too warm in an enclosed box. Any thoughts???

 

[LutzTD]

Hey guys! Recently we parted out an old Coke machine at work that went bad, and I nabbed the large red plexiglass panel off of the front that says Coke. My plan is to make a simple flat box with 1x4s and a plywood back with the Coke panel on the front and light it up!! The troule is the panel is 3' 6" by 2ft, so I cant fit the normal cheapie floresent light in there. I was wondering about using christmass lights or ropelights, but they might not be bright enough or maybe get too warm in an enclosed box. Any thoughts???

what about round ceiling florescent, that might fit, keep the diffuser so it evens out. sounds like a cool project

 

[Lippyp]

LED christmas lights? Minimal heat and these days they're pretty bright. That or those LED strips that you get to put under kitchen cabinets. Put them around the edge of the box and use some cheap mirror tile on the back to reflect the light forwards.

 

[bgarrett]

build the wood box big enough for the standard 4 foot tubes and frame around the coke sign

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/n/u/H/2/0/A/a-photo-frame-hi.png

 

[NHBandit]

What did the machine have behind the sign for lights ?

 

[dlewis]

I made one out of 1x6 with picture frame moulding to hold the plastic sign in,used two single T-12 fixture I should have mounted them on the sides shining towards the center because it's a little bright in the middle.Also don't forget a couple air holes.

 

[Chevy72pu]

I built a similar frame for mine. Put 3 "under cabinet" flourescent lights inside and mounted a power strip inside to plug them into.

 

[dlewis]

I built a similar frame for mine. Put 3 "under cabinet" flourescent lights inside and mounted a power strip inside to plug them into.

Good choice!

 

[gte718p]

I would go LED strips. Anyway you go you will need some air flow. Just a couple of holes will do. Convection will take care of the rest for LEDs.

 

[thdewey]

I like LEDs because of the low heat. I have some LEDs in my Jeep art work that I leave on all the time. For this application I used a three light set designed for outdoors. For your sign I'd makea frame of 1X6s and a thin plywood back. paint the inside white to reflact the light and mount LED under cabinet lights on the sides. You could paint the outside a flat black or Coke red.

Please post a picture when you build it. I'd love to see the the final product.

 

[RedBKM]

+1 on the LED christmas tree lights. Arrange them in a pattern and attach with phone wire staples. I lit up an old Sun Drop clock with a small set and it looks great.

The tube setup might generate interference if your radio is nearby.

 

[hh76]

I'm in the process of using 12ft of this LED tape light from the Depot. So far it's been extremely easy to work with, and puts out a lot of light (equivilant to aroung 100-150w of incandescent). Dimmable, and some are color changing.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=led+tape%20light&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=Search+All

The main reason I would use them is that you can evenly distribute the lights exactly how you want them. With tubes, you end up with bright spots due to the light being concentrated in one or two spots.

 

[tfi racing]

QUOTE=hh76;3157993]I'm in the process of using 12ft of this LED tape light from the Depot. So far it's been extremely easy to work with, and puts out a lot of light (equivilant to aroung 100-150w of incandescent). Dimmable, and some are color changing.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=led+tape%20light&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=Search+All

The main reason I would use them is that you can evenly distribute the lights exactly how you want them. With tubes, you end up with bright spots due to the light being concentrated in one or two spots.[/QUOTE]

LED is the way to go,this product or any of the numerous clones available is easy,cheap and fairly low risk.

 

[Dragster guy]

I work in the sign industry you should make your cabinet a min of 5 inches deep when using leds to prevent hot spots.Good luck with your project. When using lamps we will build a 6 inch deep cabinet with lamps 6 inches on center and for the length we will over lap the ends by a min of 3 inches. Hope this helps.

 

[Kevin C]

You can always use the diffuser sheet from a broken LDC TV to even out the light. LCD TV's have a film stack with several layers. One will be a polarizer and usually you will have a couple of light management films.

Its also possible to use the light guide and edge light it. You should be able to make a much thinner display box with TV components..

A LCD you yield a lot of good optical components... I might be tough to find a broken one that's large enough.

http://www.displayblog.com/?s=diffuser

 

[Zeke]

You can always use the diffuser sheet from a broken LDC TV to even out the light. LCD TV's have a film stack with several layers. One will be a polarizer and usually you will have a couple of light management films.

Its also possible to use the light guide and edge light it. You should be able to make a much thinner display box with TV components..

A LCD you yield a lot of good optical components... I might be tough to find a broken one that's large enough.

http://www.displayblog.com/?s=diffuser

Jeez Louise. It's just a Coke sign.

 

[Kevin C]

Jeez Louise. It's just a Coke sign.

That's what I did for the World of Coke in Atlanta... They bought several LCD's that I modified with AR glass.

Seriously, used LCD's are a great source of optical films. The diffusers are great for LED lighting projects.

The pic just shows how many films a typical LCD has. It's kind of crazy.

 

[Gus68]

Hey thanks for all the responses!!! Sorry I haven't replyied in a while, My computer took a **** and I bought a new one. Will LEDs put out that much heat??? As long as I vent it? I would like to use 1X4s just cause I don't want it sticking out real far. The pop machine had 2 4ft floesant bulbs spaced out but they were in the machine and the actual sign is shorter than the lights.