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SarverSystems
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2002
- Messages
- 7,408
Here's the long-awaited tutorial, showing how to turn a plain white CCFL into any color you could want.
First, you need to have a plain white CCFL. You'll want to start with a white tube so your colors are true and bright. Here I am starting off with 8 tubes.
Next you'll need a paper cutter used for scrapbooking or trimming photographs. You get them at any office supply place, craft store, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, etc...
Now on to the fun part. Picking the colors. Look on Ebay for Avery Vinyl, or go to a sign shop and beg for some scraps, or if you are in a bind, give me a PM and I'll see what I can come up with for you.
THe next step is to wrap the tubes. Cut the vinyl (with the cutter) to 1 1/4" X 11 1/8". Measure your tubes for length since some manufacturers are slightly longer or shorter. Then pull the vinyl from the liner, and apply it as straight as possible down the length of the tube. You want to start on the side that won't be shown (the side with the sticky pads) since there will be a very slight overlap where the 2 ends meet. Take it slow, and if you get an air bubble, peel the vinyl back and reapply it. In the end, this is how it should look.
Please note the blue one was cut a little too short.
The following images show each color lit sequentially from top to bottom.
The image below shows a standard set of blue CCFLs next to my modded blue CCFL, as well as a white one (for comarison).
And here is what they look like unlit.
First, you need to have a plain white CCFL. You'll want to start with a white tube so your colors are true and bright. Here I am starting off with 8 tubes.
Next you'll need a paper cutter used for scrapbooking or trimming photographs. You get them at any office supply place, craft store, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, etc...
Now on to the fun part. Picking the colors. Look on Ebay for Avery Vinyl, or go to a sign shop and beg for some scraps, or if you are in a bind, give me a PM and I'll see what I can come up with for you.
THe next step is to wrap the tubes. Cut the vinyl (with the cutter) to 1 1/4" X 11 1/8". Measure your tubes for length since some manufacturers are slightly longer or shorter. Then pull the vinyl from the liner, and apply it as straight as possible down the length of the tube. You want to start on the side that won't be shown (the side with the sticky pads) since there will be a very slight overlap where the 2 ends meet. Take it slow, and if you get an air bubble, peel the vinyl back and reapply it. In the end, this is how it should look.
Please note the blue one was cut a little too short.
The following images show each color lit sequentially from top to bottom.
The image below shows a standard set of blue CCFLs next to my modded blue CCFL, as well as a white one (for comarison).
And here is what they look like unlit.
)
