The tube iteslf is waterproof to me best of knowledge. I used it and spilled about 2/3 litre of iced tea on it, and it was fine. The only spot that you need to take extra care with will be the ends, specifically the one that connects to the inverter. the other end should be sealed the way it is.
3mm and up fatter EL, 3mm and up is approved for outdoor and submerged environs. A few dealers specialize in water craft detailing with EL. Several companies are making life vests and fireman jackets lined with the stuff. Seal the end of the EL wire by heating the end till you get a nice melt, giving a rounded seal just like your pipets in chemistry class. This will water proof it. Don't know why the fine stuff, like angel hair, aint approved for water, might be due to the outdoor UV fade factor is higher on the fine EL stuff not that it aint water proof tho. Jus so you know, UV exposure will degrade the phosphor on EL, so if your doing UV lighting in your case, expect your EL to fade a bit after a year. Most variations in brightness from one EL vendor to the next has more to do with the inverter power source, higher or lower voltage, higher or lower frequency. 90V, 400Hz is common, but 120V, 2KHz is brighter but will fade the phosphor a bit quicker as well. The Aqua is the basic phosphor without any filter coating and can vary color from green to deep blue just by changing the frequency. If you want really bright EL wire, (comparatively), try finding some double core EL wire. Not that much more expense per foot.
I had something really important to say... I have such a headache I can't think straight... I'll be back to edit this later...
I have a bunch of LEDs and about 5ft of EL wire onthe way, i'm going to experiment and see what works better, i'll let you all know what happens with pics as soon as I finish my tests.
IF any of you need cheap el wire, like $10 per 3-5 feet, go to wal mart(if you can) and pick it up in the rice (auto neon) section. It wil be 12v, with an inverter, all you need to do is plug it into a molex connector, and you're done. works very well, as i have done this in the past
My gear wont be here until next friday I should get everything done that night though and post on Sat.
