Customer Reviews

Rust-Oleum 223081 Magnetic Primer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I tried this product and thought I'd share my results since it is a new product, and I could find very few reviews on it on-line myself before I tried it. My goal was to "hang" some flat metal pencil holders and small flat organizers (locker items) on a ~ 18 in. x 8 in. section on a wall to store make up etc. in. Luckily, I tried a "hidden" test area (behind toilet/near floor!)first. If at all possible, take the can to have it mixed/shaken in the machine at a paint store just before starting the project. Or, you'll need to stir it a long time since the particles sink. Read the label on the can itself... not just the box. Use foam roller (as per box)-not a brush (if poss.). Per notes on the box or can, more thin layers are better than fewer thicker layers. Must be due to better overall distribution of magnetic product that way, I assume. Layers dry in ~ 1/2 hr. I waited longer though starting with my 3rd or 4th layer, just to be safe. For kids' sm. ABC magnets or pics, a few layers (3-4)of primer would work sufficiently. For my project, I changed my mind about using the product after applying 8 layers of primer. The hold at that point was pretty good (held sm. container with a blush, sm. eyeshadow and mascara), but I felt like I still would have needed a few more layers to get really good hold/stability-it slid if I added one more light item. I noticed that more contact area with a magnet (large flat magnet vs. 4 small circle magnets in corners only) worked better. Also, since I used so many layers of primer, the section was raised up a little on the wall. The primer is a very dark gray-almost black. But, it covered with 3 layers of my off-white paint. BTW-the grip didn't really seem to change much after covered back up with my wall paint, so that is good. Of note, it would take a lot of this product to do, say, a lower 1/2 of a wall for a kid's room. Product is fine... very cool concept...just too much work/too many layers needed for what I wanted to use it for. I ended up drilling holes in the tins and using lightweight dry-wall anchors w/screws to put them up. Hope this helps you decide about it. Best wishes!

This product is so cool! I'm sorry to see other had no success. I first mixed BY HAND the quart for 15 minutes. I didn't see the recommendation to have it shaken by the electric shaker. DO THIS it will save tons of time! I wanted to just do a small rectangle on my wall but decided to go all out and i covered an 8x10' wall in it. Let me say I used a paint roller and NOT a brush. the can recommends a foam brush for even coating. one quart did about three coats. YOU MUST WAIT 30 minutes between coats. I have YET to paint over it with my topcoat, but I already have tried it out with regular old fridge magnets and i have photos hanging. The magnets seem secure and stick well. You probably can't hang anything heavier than a pizza menu, but I'm mainly hanging paper. It's not perfect, but it's a pretty neat item!!

If you read the can, it addresses only 2-3 coats. The fact is, you need to use more than that. I used different width painters tape, taped off a decorative 3x4 (approx) space and the used the entire can. Every hour or so, I'd add another coat. When I'd used the entire can and let it dry/cure for 2 days, I then applied 2 good coats of chalkboard paint over the top. My magnets stick even with those two coats over the top of the magnetic primer. I think that anyone who approaches this product thinking it's going to have the same magnetic hold as the side of their fridge is delusional. LOL It's a craft kind of thing...not an industrial kind of thing. I would suggest Rare Earth magnets, although our other magnets stick just fine. Now, you won't be holding up a phone book with this primer, but it DOES work....just not with only 2 or 3 coats. And we found that the more time passed, the better the magnetism was. Not sure if that's reality or our perception, but we're loving it !!

We applied 4 coats to a 10ft wide by 8ft tall wall. Flat thin printable magnets (like business cards) worked well.
YES! You must apply paint very soon after have a machine shake it. The 1st can we tried to use turned out very bad with hand shaking and stiring with a paint stirrer.
Our goal was to make a HUGE dry-erase marker board. We applied 4 coats of dry erase maker board paint on top of the magnetic primer. We used it for 2 months but noticed some of the colors (red and black) bonded with the board and were very hard to erase.
After 90 days the Dry Erase Marker Board paint started to turn yellow "ish" and any marker colors were hard to erase after 1 day.
A call to Rust-O-Leum customer service lead us to their engineering dept, and they stated that the chemical make-up of the 2 paints were not compatible and can not be used together.
We now have a 4ft x 8ft Dry Erase board screwed to the wall.

This product works okay but as others have said it is going to take 5-6 thin coats to get any semblance of a usable magnetic surface. Even then the surface is very weak compared to the side of your fridge. We are going to use it as a message center so it needs to be able to hold up single sheets of paper, coupons, etc (I'm guessing that is what most of us are gunning for right?) If this is your goal I'd recommend investing in some rare earth magnets. You can find them online at that well-known auction site or at a variety of other online stores. I bought a lot of 50 1/4" cylinders and they work much better than standard magnets. You can hold up several sheets of paper with just 1-2 of these so they are worth the $15 I paid.

For reference the quart size can covered a 4' x 4' area with 7 rolled-on coats. Your mileage may vary...

Didn't really see the recommendation to have shaken in the store right before using this... Ended up having to use two cans when 1 might have done the trick.

Have this shaken in the store, then bring it home and use. Otherwise you end up with a thick layer of magnetic sludge at the bottom of the can after you've put 2 coats of primer on - that don't have many magnetic properties!

Looks like this is going to work... We're creating a wall to hang the kids art work on... But we ended up putting 6 coats of primer on...

I almost didn't buy the magnetic primer based on reviews but I'm glad I did. We followed the directions on the paint can and were very careful to make sure we made a smooth finish with a foam roller. I was so excited to see my wood magnets stick to the painted area in the morning. A couple of things to note:

1) The paint is black and might be hard to cover with some paints. Behr Ultra Premium Plus covered with one coat!
2) This is magnetic paint and not a sheet of steel. Don't expect it to be like your frig or filing cabinet.

Good luck!

I did a total of 5 coats. I used the entire can on a 2x6 area. I followed the directions and made sure I mixed the paint really well. I stirred for 15 minutes straight before each coat. This morning I tried putting on some magnets. The flat bizcard type stick, the letters from the Fridge Phonics stick, the animals from the Fridge Farm stick, the Fridge Farm unit sticks. Today I'm applying the chalkboard paint on top. Great product I think. No complaints here. It does take sometime to do and mixing the paint the way Rustoleum recommends is very important. I used a 3/8" nap roller. I would definitely recommend this product for use in a child's playroom or for a family message station.


**Just an update...
I forgot to mention the paint was applied on a wall with a "dippled" texture. Had my wall been smooth, I think the paint would of layed up smooth due to the fact I stirred for 15 minutes before each coat. Yesterday I applied 2 coats of the chalkboard paint. All the magnets I mentioned above still stick and does hold up some artwork that my child made. So far, so happy. I am waiting 3 days until I can "condition" the chalkboard paint. Once conditioned, we will use the board for a few days. I will post another update once I actually "wash" the board with a damp cloth. The directions say not to do that until 7 days have past.

Wish I had read the other review before purchasing and spending 2 days on a small project for my daughter. We have a stainless steel fridge so I wanted to make her toy box & the lower half of her door magnetic in order to hold some magnetic alphabet letters she received for Christmas. It took 5 coats of primer for the letters to stick - & let me add that they BARELY stay on. The primer is black, not grey as the box may lead on. It took another 3 coats of paint to cover the "primer." I should mention - I did NOT have the can of primer shaken at a paint store, which I would highly, highly recommend doing. All in all, a neat idea, but quite time consuming - would be much easier to get a magnetic board & hang somewhere.

After reading the reviews and following the directions ie getting the can shook right before using and constant stirring, it wouldn't hold up a child's magnetic letter. I came across at a local home improvement store the same primer with it marked "now 3 times stronger". This stuff is truly different. Just stirring you can tell it has a lot more metal in the primer. After 3 coats with this and covering with 2 coats of chalk board paint it held up small refrigerator magnets. Don't expect it to hold up large magnets like clip magnets it doesn't. It will hold up 5 sheets of paper with an ordinary magnet.
With the above being said don't get the old formula get the "3 times stronger".