Electric Paint Light-Up Cosplay Sword

I get a lot of questions about how I add simple LEDs into my props and gadgets. Majority of people haven't used a soldering iron, and aren't sure about the investment to purchase one. No worries! You can use some copper tape and Bare Conductive's Electric Paint to light up a few 5mm LEDs, and no soldering required!

Step 1: Electric Paint Light-up Cosplay Sword

I downloaded one of Punished Props awesome free blueprint designs, the Xenoblade – Monnado Sword and modified the file in Adobe Illustrator to add holes for LEDs and a cover for a coin cell battery.

I added 5 holes for 5mm LEDS and engraved paths for the copper tape, electric paint, and coin battery.

Laser Cutter: Glowforge Pro

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Step 3: Download File and Laser Cut

I cut all of the pieces for the sword on my Glowforge Pro laser cutter.

Materials I used were

Blue Acrylic

Neon Pink Acrylic

Black Acrylic

If you don't have access to a laser cutter: No problem! You can still download the files and print them out and use them as a template for foam, cardboard or worbla!

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Step 4: What Is Electric Paint?

Electric Paint conducts electricity when dry. You can paint, stencil or screen print, it's air‐drying non-toxic and solvent free. Must be fully dry to work. Easily removable with soap and water. Seal with acrylic paint or spray varnish. Can last years if treated properly and kept dry.

What is electric paint?

Works on:

Paper

Cardboard

Wood

Plastic

Glass

Plaster

Some rubbers

LEGO

Textiles, etc…

Connect batteries

LEDs and other components

Great for attaching components and for PCB repair.

Can be used as a cold solder and wire paint.

Can be used with conductive thread and e-textiles.Can be painted or sprayed over for protection or multi-layered circuitry

Surface resistivity approx 55 ohms/square at 50 microns layer thickness

Other project examples and resources at Bare Conductive Make.

Step 5: Add the LEDs

TEST! TEST! TEST!

Testing that all your LEDs work first before proceeding can save you some unneeded frustration in the future. You can take each LED and coin cell battery to test the LED is working. You can take the negative cathode(the shorter leg on the LED) to the negative side of the coin cell battery, and then the positive anode(the longer leg on the LED) to the positive side of the coin cell battery. The LED should light up!

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