Light-up Skyline Sign Tutorial

[JamesK]

Skyline Light Up Tutorial

Doing this is at your OWN risk I take no responsibility for any damage or accidents which may occur throughout this tutorial, if you're unsure ASK, if you don't think you can do it DON'T

I made this tutorial back in June 09 in the General Maintenance section but I thought it might be more suited to this one, hope you guys like it

What You Will Need:

S1/1.5 Rear Skyline Garnish (This will NOT work on S2 as they are painted)

Dermal Tool (Rotary Tool)

Heavy Duty Dermal Cut Off Wheel

Dermal Sanding Band*

Rocker Switch* : If you want to turn it off and on

~ 14 High Intensity LED's ~$60+ from Jaycar or ~$20 from eBay, Check the light output rating

~6-14 Resistors: Pennies at Jaycar, You can use one resistor per LED or for every 2 (But if one burns out so will the other) Use THIS website to calculate the ohm's required for your array

Sheet of Experimenters Board: Try to get one that is long enough for the whole thing so you don't have to go through the hassle of putting them together

Some Wires: Try to get different colors for convince sake

Can of Paint: Match your color code (Recommend Autobarn Moorabbin, they can mix you up a can specific to your car and it's really useful for touch ups

Can of Lacquer*: Technically this isn't a must but it provides a nice shine & seal, also gives your that smooth feeling you have on your car

Painters Tape

Exacto Knife

Alright we first start with your Skyline Garnish after taking it off of your car inspect i and make sure it's all nice and clean, you will notice some faded paint on the letters start by sanding them off to get the best light through

Start by cutting the tabs off the back

Now cut the entire plastic backing out, enough to expose all the letters; For my next project I'm going to try to cut a small hole instead and slide the entire board in but it's up to you

This is what your Garnish should look like when you're finished

You can sand down the edges if you really want to but in reality no one is going to see the back it's only for your own satisfaction

Place painters tape across the lettering and run your fingers along the outside of the lettering it should tear the tape allowing you to just cover the individual letters

After cleaning the Garnish again prep your area for painting (preferably outside) apply several even coats of paint (I did 5 if I recall correctly but it's based on how happy you are with it) allow at least 20 minutes between each coat (maybe less or more depending on the weather)

*REMOVE THE PAINTERS TAPE OFF THE LETTERING BEFORE APPLYING LACQUER* I forgot to remove the tape before applying the Lacquer which was a pretty stupid mistake and it ruins the finish, not by a lot but it's a lot of work to fix. After you completed your final coat allow drying for a few hours before applying Lacquer; this will seal the paint and give it a nice Glossy finish

Admire your handy work before starting the hard bit

Cut down your Experimenters board down to size measuring it up to the hole you cut in the Garnish

I know this was an extremely crap soldering job; Solder all your LED's, Resistors and your wiring onto the board

Finally hook up the garnish to your car, wiring to a rocker switch if you want to be able to turn it on and off, as a precaution I wired this to my ACC wire so it can only turn on while the key is in

[WYTSKY]

oh noooo... now everyone will be able to make one

good tutorial though. By the way... i have done this with a few variations of LED boards and the more expensive one from jaycar is far the best.....

As an extra step... to disperse the light more evenly in the led tube, i sanded the front of it, worked pretty well....

If anyone does this.... they can't choose BLUE!

[mad082]

not a bad write-up, but you aren't the first person to do one

[r32man09]

That Looks mad as gd work!

[SLY-25T]

do you have a close up pic of your wiring job? like how you connected them all up? just wanna compare it to mine.

[azzafreddy]

id wire it to my head and tail light accessories so it comes on when you turn your lights on at night (because the headlights and tail lights run off the same circuit if im not mistaken), have red LED's to match the tail lights, the only problem is when you brake it wouldnt go brighter but im sure theres a way around that, then hook a killswitch under the dash somewhere incase you dont want them on for some reason.

[WYTSKY]

id wire it to my head and tail light accessories so it comes on when you turn your lights on at night (because the headlights and tail lights run off the same circuit if im not mistaken), have red LED's to match the tail lights, the only problem is when you brake it wouldnt go brighter but im sure theres a way around that, then hook a killswitch under the dash somewhere incase you dont want them on for some reason.

Just a note, my understanding is that aslong as you AREN'T using it as a brake light and its not too distracting (ie flashing,moving,etc) then it it acceptable.... otherwise they can pull u over...

Atleast that was wot I was told by the cop in VIC when i was pulled over for it, then he said it is ok.

[SLY-25T]

im talking about the back of the circuit board. sorry for miscommunication. just how all the resistors anf LEDS are wired up.

[Sean W]

HAHAHA i have only just realised that the greeny blue led skyline garnish on the back of my car isnt standard. I just assumed they all had them but they rarely worked I have a Series two but with this mod done when i bought it. And on a side note i went for a cruise the other night around 3am when i couldnt sleep, undercover followed me along anzac parade and all the way down oxford street to george and wasnt worried enough by this light to pull me over, my understanding of the law is the same as WYTSKY, as long as intensity doesnt change on braking and doesnt flash or anything its legal.

[dav0001]

hey that looks pretty nice WYTSKY.

The blue looks cool against the white

[emziii]

that looks awesome good job!! i wana do that to but instead of blue ill make it pink hehe

[mik_e]

Excellent work, i wondered why i seen a few R33s with rear skyline light

[WYTSKY]

Thanks guys

[conan7772]

I did mine in red and it comes on with the brake lights.

I've had cops behind me several times and so far so good.

Quite simple to do.

I did pretty much the same as JamesK.

I cut the plastic away with a 4 inch angle grinder.

I used clear contact paper.

Sanded it.

Covered it with the contact.

Trimmed around the letters with a craft knife.

Sprayed it with primer + black top coats.

Removed remaining contact off the letters.

Fitted a 300 mm led strip with double sided tape hard on to the back.

Looped an active/neutral off the brake light.

Blue looks awesome on the white car !

Nice work.

Edited January 7, 2010 by conan7772

[WYTSKY]

thanks, yours definitely looks the part too... just be aware that as I think i said above, you can get fined for using it as a brake light.

Adam

[jahn-15]

So theres no way you can do this to a R32?

[simonthomasgoodwin]

<br />So theres no way you can do this to a R32?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Im about 90% sure it can be done.. A whole different process tho, and a lot more effing about. I might give it ago in the near future

[aussietroy]

If im not mistaken the r32 coupe had a factory option "skyline" light up panel. Not many around but.

I was considering trying this on my r32 4 door but desided its too much effing around and cutting the letters into the actual bar

[boiracer]

color is the only issue legally. technically you can only have white of yellow up front. red or orange out the back. but i guess as long as its not too ridiculously bright and distracting you should be fine

[Messiah]

anyone thought of using a cold cathode light for this... might not work as a brake light as it takes too long to turn on, but it would remove the need for ninja soldering and breadboard work.