ITT: LED guru's wanted

[ranger_mclaren]

This is the look he wants:

 

[--weezl--]

^^well, that was the inspiration/what reminded me of an idea i wanted to do long ago. I want the blue to be blue, and the chrome to be chrome...

http://www.rangerpowersports.com/forum/f53/update-custom-emblem-how-254259.html

or here

http://www.nthcoast.com/lightedlogo.html

the first one is the look i'm going for, but won't work for my truck, because the one i'm working on is the 7" one on my tail gate, and i won't have the room to mount all of that on my tail gate, plus my emblem is the gel type, not the hard plastic type... but that would be a much easier way to do it... the second one is't what i'm looking at

I know this isn't EXACTLY what you are describing, but I dig these ones. I want one for the Ranger.

https://lo-glow.com/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=7c33c83a15508c573f94ad22dcd98286

that is pretty sweet, is it like a halo around the actual emblem?

 

[IRKillroy]

I'm getting the itch to do this myself. If I used the photo luminesence stuff behind a plastic emblem on my 88's brushed aluminum panel then I think I could do that....

 

[Andres629]

Whoa... this stuff is crazy. Like MtnMike said... "My head asplode."

 

[3.0ranger1227]

Wait so this stuff is flexible in the tape/panel form?! think if you made every exposed section of tube on a cab cage part of your dome light! with it switchable between sections of course... holy c**p it would be awesome... or you could set it up with it slightly on the sides of the tubes to aim the light to either front seat seperately

 

[--weezl--]

if you have the hard plastic one, just heat it, pull it out, sand it down, toss the EL panel in behind... you're done... although your sanded surface will leave a hazy finish, unless you put silicone or something between the EL and the sanded logo...

mine, i'm thinking i'm going to have to remove the logo, and figure out how to do this from there... because the lettering has to be on top of the logo, and it's not one piece, it's going to be difficult...

 

[IRKillroy]

if you continue to sand the plastic you can make it super smooth. You'll need to sand it like you would a paint job.

 

[3.0ranger1227]

if you work your way up to superfine sandpaper it'll be fine... but you start to feel really pointless after 1000 grit. 1500 makes you feel as if you will never accomplish anything

 

[--weezl--]

Wait so this stuff is flexible in the tape/panel form?! think if you made every exposed section of tube on a cab cage part of your dome light! with it switchable between sections of course... holy c**p it would be awesome... or you could set it up with it slightly on the sides of the tubes to aim the light to either front seat seperately

you lost me, but i think you just had the same reaction i did when i was reading the wiki on it... i guess it was used a lot for aircraft instrument panels... i should also mention, these use minimum 60vac... and you should not be putting a switch on the ac voltage, it is better to have switches on your 12v source, which means you need a new inverter to switch the power from 12vdc to 60+vac for each individually switched piece... know what i mean?

http://www.aircraftextras.com/EL-Panel1.htm

it comes in rigid panels, thin flexible film, wire (used in the tron costumes) and strips/tape, those green-blue night lights that came out a while ago are the same things...

if you work your way up to superfine sandpaper it'll be fine... but you start to feel really pointless after 1000 grit. 1500 makes you feel as if you will never accomplish anything

or you could just put something that forms to the shape, between the panels, like a clear silicone... you should use an adhesive of some sort either way... a thin thin layer of silicone would be my recomendation

 

[3.0ranger1227]

in the flexible film form you could(in theory) wrap it around tube, correct? so you could wrap it around cage work for a dome light. probably not bright enough for say tails on a tube bed but inside it would be cool

or you could set it up as a work/cargo light on a tube bed

 

[--weezl--]

are you talking about a roll cage in your truck? you keep saying tube...

i would honestly recommend the tape, it's much easier to use than the foil, and it comes weather proof i'm pretty sure...

and no, the EL is not bright enough for brake/tail lights... they are not bright enough to be visable in sunlight either

 

[shane96ranger]

that is pretty sweet, is it like a halo around the actual emblem?

I'm not positive, great question though. I wish they had pictures of it when it's not illuminated. I just emailed an inquiry to them because if it is a halo around it, I'm doubting it would fit the way I want it to in my grille because it would need to be a little larger than the emblem. Hopefully the light is coming from behind and illuminating the existing outer ring in the oval. I'll let you know what they say.

 

[shane96ranger]

Wow, that was fast. They said:

"The original vehicle badge sits on a ‘pad’ that is slightly larger than the emblem. The illumination comes from behind the badge and is visible all around the parameter."

 

[3.0ranger1227]

are you talking about a roll cage in your truck? you keep saying tube...

i would honestly recommend the tape, it's much easier to use than the foil, and it comes weather proof i'm pretty sure...

and no, the EL is not bright enough for brake/tail lights... they are not bright enough to be visable in sunlight either

Yes if you had a cab cage. You could use the tape on the tube that makes up the cab cage to create a low brightness dome light.