Custom Sign Fabrication Process

Before creating a custom neon sign, we plot the pattern on fire-resistant paper that allows us to bend the neon tubes to exactly the right position. When we pattern we examine the possible bends and tubes required to make the design legible with neon. After the sign is laid out on paper we begin selecting the right glass tubes and colors needed. We mark the glass tube bends on the tube from the stencil. A ribbon burner heats up the glass tubes to make them pliable and the tube is carefully bent. The tube bending causing the tube to have a smaller diameter at the bend, so we blow a small amount of air to help expand the tube to it’s original diameter.

After the glass tubes are bent and blown we need to remove the air from the tube and inject neon into the tube. Neon gas glows differently depending on the composition of the gas. We inject neon to glow the correct color, which is also determined by the inner coating color of the tube if it is not a clear glass tube. We seal the tube and add wire connections.

After the neon tubes are sealed we dip the non-letter portions of the tube into blackout paint to not make that part of the tube light emitting. Blackout paint is brushed and touched up from the dipping before the tubes are ready to be installed on the sign. We install the tubes on a frame, existing sign, or commercial building. We wire the neon tubes to the transformer that powers the neon.