Using Magnetic Paint: Does it really work?

Part one of a two part project:

This cabinet came from my Pop-pop's house (read more about him here, moved to my mom's house, then in August came home with me.  It sat in my garage for a while, then I moved it into my living room, in this corner. 

I wanted to live with it awhile before I was sure what it was going to become; I had a vision from the start, which is really unusual for me.  I just knew what this was going to be in my house, which is very different from it's first two lives. 

What the cabinet will be will have to wait until part two, but today, I want to share with you what I did with the door!

I removed the door from the cabinet, and knew it was going to have a purpose, or repurpose, of its own.

I started with a trim around the outside, thinking I was going to leave the inside the color of the magnetic primer.  I used the darker color of the kitchen stripes.

first coat

The next step was the fun part: painting with the magnetic paint.  I used Rustoleum's magnetic primer bought from Lowe's.  I sanded down the door by hand just to rough up the finish and make sure the paint would have a surface to bond to.   The first coat didn't look so great: I honestly wasn't sure what I was in for at this point!

after many coats!

The first coat of magnetic primer didn't look so great!   I ended up doing a second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth of primer before I had a coating that looked and felt right.

By "looked" right, it was dark and completely black, fully covering the original paint.  By "feeling" right meant testing with various magnets throughout the process.  I put on thin coats, and allowed each to dry for 30 minutes.  I then would test with a magnet, and could feel the pull or lack thereof towards the door.  Towards the end, I would tilt up the door 45 degrees and get a better feel for the pull;  after 6 coats I felt like I had a good thing going.   It sounds like a lot of coats, but out of a quart of primer, I only used about 1/5 of the can.  

As you can see, the primer was really really black.  I wasn't sure I could paint over it, but was feeling like I wanted the entire door to look the same.

 At this point is where I will sound like a walking blogging commercial for Sherwin Williams: their  paint is awesome!  The first coat covered like a pro!

Here we are setting up in its new home in the kitchen. It gives the same light/dark effect the stripes gives, so I'm happy I went with the darker color. 

The first magnets I tried were lighter ones with larger magnets on the back; the entire back of these two are magnetized; these worked well for both reasons: light and large magnets.

This magnet also did ok: it didn't have a large magnet on the back, but was on the lighter side so it worked fine also.   After I tried all the magnets we had, only two didn't work with the paint.  There was one that was fairly heavy, made from a piece of slate.  The second one was a small stuffed animal with small magnets in it's feet, and that didn't stick at all.

I hung the door on the wall, and used one of my favorite products to steady it.  I love the Command products: this one is the velcro type fastener.  Stick one side to the door (or picture frame, wall hanging), and the other to the wall.  Stick and unstick until you have a solid, straight hanging on the wall.  And even with the little (hopefully rare) little earthquakes we get here in Central Virginia, pictures stay nicely hung in place. 

The icing on the cake? my clean and cleanable fridge doors! I love it! We collect magnets from trips as opposed to another tshirt or trinkets which we don't need (read: Mom doesn't like clutter). We've all become excited about collecting a new magnet, but the refrigerator was getting overrun, and honestly, looking pretty junky. This is a great answer. I love my new (old) door!

My door may get some sassy little accents to color it up, or a stripe of paint to accent the frame. Or not. For now, I'm enjoying my little repurposed door from a cabinet that was handed down for three generations.

Next: See what has happened to the cabinet  in its "un-doored" state.

PS: A few more notes: If you are applying this to a wall, the instructions suggested using a small roller which I do recommend.  I used  a foam brush, and did have to work to get the edges smoothed out.  Second, have the store mix the paint for you; I had to stir and stir and stir to get it all mixed up.  Depending on how long it has been on the shelf, a spin in the store will save you a lot of arm fatigue!  And one more thing: for added fun, you can add a coat of chalkboard paint and have a chalkboard/magnetic space all in one!