How To Restick Led Light Strips

LED lights in interior design are becoming more than and more popular. They are cheaper to run, very energy efficient, they last longer, don't heat up as much as other lights do. One tin now find them in lamps, floor lamps, decorations of all kinds.

Different types of LED light strips are available as well, but they often come in a rather strong form with a mucilaginous layer on the back. These can be hands bent and adjusted to any shape or surface. It is very easy to cut them to size as well. Y'all would demand some wire though, as those strips don't have a plug fastened by default.

Restick Your LED Strips With A Proper Adhesive

Types of LED light strips

RGB LED strip

The RGB LED light strips to have a controller where you can cull betwixt available colors using a small remote control. These are non every bit flexible as the other types, then they work all-time when used for accent lighting effectually borders or patterns on the floor. They do come up in many dissimilar forms and with very interesting designs (bank check out some of these).

One downside to this type is that it uses individual LEDs, which means every 3rd LED must exist fastened to the controller chip. As they are spaced apart properly though, this does not plant any problem or loss of efficiency.

SMD 5050 LED strip

These types of strips use ane big flat surface expanse per led rather than multiple smaller ones like the RGB-controlled ones do. They are therefore more efficient, but the downside is that they are not as flexible. That ways you tin't curve them or twist them effectually corners as easily. You lot will need wire to adhere your strips to the power supply, which needs to exist plugged into a socket for this type of strip.

LED rope low-cal

This type of lighting is nearly often used for decoration purposes and equally emphasis lighting. This blazon has a more 'fluid-structure than the other 2 types, only it also doesn't use individual LEDs which makes the rope more flexible and easier to bend/twist into desired shapes or patterns. The ropes are commonly cut off at regular intervals to ensure even spacing between each LED light. These can exist connected direct to a ability supply as they come up with their ain plug attached.

But what if you want to bend it again? Or modify its orientation? Is this possible without destroying it? Will it nevertheless piece of work after that? Permit's notice out!

Tin can y'all remove LED strip lights from the wall and reuse them?

It is possible to remove those types of LED strips from the wall without damaging the paint or surface where it was attached. How? Use a hairdryer!

Take your hair dryer and ready information technology every bit hot as yous can go it (but don't fire yourself!) and start blowing hot air on the sticky side, moving the blow dryer dorsum and along evenly over its entire surface until you feel it slightly getting softer and slightly moist/tacky like gum does after pulling off some tape.

Now advisedly pull upwardly on one corner and continue pulling at unlike spots until in that location's enough peeled off for you to grab onto with your fingers. Congratulations, you've only successfully removed an LED strip from the wall without damaging it!

How to cheque out whether it works correctly?

When you remove the LED strips there is a chance it was damaged, and then you have to examine it before re-using information technology. To do this you lot volition need to detect a power source that can provide at least 10V DC or AC, or fifty-fifty 12V if the LED strip is 24V DC. If that isn't available in your home just get out it aside for at present.

If you have access to a voltmeter then great! Use the multimeter'south ohm function and cheque out whether there are any connections between cables number 1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc.

If you don't have an ohm meter but ain a digital multi-tester, use its continuity test instead (if it has i) with everything connected properly and so far and so that it beeps when testing. Connections shouldn't be open (no sound) and the beeping should be continuous - if it isn't, something is wrong and you lot'll need to check where the problem lies.

Using a voltmeter is slightly more than complicated as you lot starting time have to find out which pair of cables corresponds to red and black ability wires, or positive and negative for DC strips powered by batteries.

If there is more one such connection then choose one that isn't used (as all-time you can tell) for powering other things like LED low-cal controllers. That'due south how you make up one's mind which wire is positive and which wire is negative, and then now connect them properly according to their voltage rating: red always gets +12V/-12V, etc., black always gets the other value on the meter depending on whether it'south Air-conditioning or DC.

For Air conditioning powered LED strips you can utilize a USB ability bank or any other 12V source capable of supplying at least 1A output to test it out, for DC strips you need batteries that provide enough voltage - 2AA batteries volition do just fine, but if you lot have 4 then better use them instead. If the LED strip lights up and then congratulations! You just saved yourself some money by reusing old stuff.

If your LED light strip doesn't calorie-free upwardly cheque whether everything is connected properly (apply ohm meter for this) and make sure there are no broken connections in cables or anywhere else on the strip itself.

What do you need to exist careful about when you lot decide to reuse LED strip lights?

Make sure you turn all power off earlier removing any LEDs. If this is not done, you will cease upwardly called-for out the LED chips (and most probable some of them will get damaged) thus rendering your LED strip unusable.

All strips use different types of connectors, but most oftentimes they are either push or click-in connectors with a latch belongings them together. Be gentle when reattaching these in order not to interruption them; specially if they are very modest and fragile like on LED rope lighting.

How to restick LED lights over again?

After that, you might want to reuse LED lights it after all. This means sticking it back onto the wall again. The easiest way would exist through the use of adhesive tape already cutting into stripes, which is basically double-sided tape with large pieces of newspaper on either side of them for you to skin apart.

In that location are lots of different types available, so bank check out where you lot tin buy some online or perchance at your local hardware store/pharmacy department if they take something similar available.

If you don't take whatever set adhesive strips, there are other means too though! For example:

Yous could use a glue gun which is what I did when trying this out myself recently. Information technology works pretty well and is really easy to employ evenly, but it also means you take to actually press the LED strip down onto the wall really hard then that it sticks properly.
Another option is superglue, merely be VERY careful when applying this as not to get any of it on whatsoever other role of your strip other than where you want information technology to stick. This can be very hard because you volition probably non see exactly where the mucilage lands.
Finally, at that place's a double-sided record that can be used 2 times before eventually deciding on using a glue gun for my latest project. It worked great too though and one time over again didn't crave me to push downwards with whatsoever force or exert pressure whatsoever which fabricated things much easier.

As always make certain to read through everything very carefully before attempting anything.

Can you use superglue for these purposes?

Aye, as mentioned above you lot tin utilize superglue to stick those LED strips onto the wall once more should you wish to exercise so. Make sure that the only place information technology sticks is where y'all want your strip to be and that there'southward no mode it can leak and damage other parts of your strip though.

How to utilize cablevision ties to attach your LED calorie-free strip over again?

It's extremely easy to attach them once again, only you'll have to cutting the length of your strip down a little bit so that it can be fitted under the cablevision tie or cypher tie. Doing this is very elementary; simply cut off any excess with some scissors, then slip it underneath and tighten the cable/naught-necktie effectually information technology.

How to solder LED strips together?

If y'all're planning on using multiple LEDs (stripes) of 1 single colour all continued up like ane large led strip light, then soldering them together would be needed for having your LEDs all act equally 1 bigger unit of measurement.

This means cutting out enough wire from within the long strip of tape where they are all joined up (solder points) and soldering them together with a soldering iron, making sure they are stuck by using electric tape afterward.

Make sure you have enough wire for this to work properly before even attempting it.
Leave the led strip on the solder points while doing this or else when you motion your soldering iron around you volition melt your strip.
We're talking about the rut here, and then be extremely careful not to burn yourself in any way any if you make up one's mind to solder your LEDs together.

How do y'all know which side of my LED low-cal strip is positive and negative?

The polarity can usually be figured out by looking at one of the LEDs on the strip itself; where at that place is an arrow pointing in ane direction (positive) at that place will as well exist a line (negative) in the opposite direction.

How to make an on/off switch for LED light strips?

In that location are 2 different means of adding a switch; 1 is taking apart some old electronics equipment like an onetime radio, game panel, or something similar that has had the power unit of measurement removed already. Y'all tin can then solder wires onto where the voltage was coming into it and just cut out a section big enough for your strip to fit through before screwing everything back together again.

The other option is soldering the main power cablevision of your device straight onto the long leg of each LED strip instead of cutting them all up so you lot can ever turn information technology off without unplugging annihilation. It's definitely not recommended to utilise any kind of mains wiring device with your LED'south though as this may result in fire, electrocution, or electrical shock.

How to remove sticky film from the LED light strip?

You tin do this past using either a hairdryer to warm the mucilage-up first or using either Goo Gone or WD-40 if you don't accept any of those items available at habitation already. Take information technology deadening and be conscientious when doing this because you lot don't desire too much heat on one function of your strip for too long otherwise melting might take identify.

How to reuse LED light strips?

Yous can reuse LED strips in various ways, but information technology mostly depends on what yous desire to practice with them. Some people will utilize smaller ones for ornamentation purposes effectually their home or garden, while others take the long strips and cut them upward so there are more usable areas for lighting something else up. You tin always restick LED strip somewhere else again by using super glue or some other type of stiff adhesive for this purpose.

How to restick led lights and where?

Other than just taking apart former electronics equipment, hither are a few you might be able to think of; decorating walls, outdoor patios/amusement areas, under cabinets in kitchens or bathrooms, putting them into plant pots (including potted plants) to lite them upwards at night or even using them as a headlight for your bike.

Just brand sure to take an old cassette record and cut the side down then y'all tin fit it over your handlebars, then secure it in place with some electrical tape afterward before resticking the LED strip on meridian.

Decision

If y'all're looking to re-utilise and restick your LED light strips, then the answer is: possibly. It depends on how big they are and what exactly you want to do with them? If it'due south a small-scale strip of 5 or fewer LEDs for decoration purposes, and so become ahead and cut them apart as many times as yous similar.

However, if it'southward a long strip (like 24+ LEDs) so almost probable isn't going to work unless yous solder the whole lot together first before cutting up. Depending on its size, this could be hard though so nosotros advise against attempting this unless you know what y'all're doing first just in case something bad happens.

Source: https://lightovo.com/post-restick-or-reuse-led-light-strips/