Hand-bent neon

For pure output per watt, no. For appearance, there is no contest — real neon glows in a way LED tube does not, especially at night and especially reflected off glass or brick. If the look is the point, buy neon. If you just need brightness, buy LED and we will build you that instead.

Usually, yes. Cracked tube can be re-bent and matched, failed transformers are a standard replacement, and dim tubes can often be restored. Send a photograph and a description of what it does when you switch it on and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth the work.

A well-made tube run at the correct current can last twenty years or more. Transformers are the usual failure point long before the glass is. Neon that has gone dim rather than dark is often just a transformer.

Yes, when it is installed correctly. The tubes themselves run cool enough to touch; the high voltage is in the transformer and the GTO cable, which we house and route properly. Interior neon is a standard part of what we build.

Close to it. Neon gas gives you the reds and oranges, argon with a mercury drop gives blues and greens, and coated tubing extends that to most of the spectrum. Some colours are brighter than others, and we will tell you which ones fade fastest.