Does magnetic primer work?

Diana Wearing
by Diana Wearing
Has anyone used this magnetic primer? I’m wondering how well it works – do magnets hold firmly or do they tend to slide…It’s a little pricey so I’m hoping someone who’s used it will weigh in on if it’s worth the cost Thanks!
  12 answers
  • MaryStLouis MaryStLouis on Dec 23, 2014
    Everything that I have read says that it works...sort of. If you want to hang anything heavier than paper you might not be happy with it. Amazon.com has some reviews that you might want to read before you go and try it.
  • Grace Alexander Grace Alexander on Dec 23, 2014
    I just did 12 inches around my new house so I cld use magnets to hold things, but three coats isn't hardly enough to hold a really strong magnet and something light, so make sure to coat at least four times before you put whatever paint on top, and remember this is a long process because it has to dry before next coat can be applied so it took a few days for us! Also go around before you paint and have whatever it is you are wanting to use on magnet wall because you may need to add more layers of magnet paint
  • Denise Kramme Denise Kramme on Dec 24, 2014
    I used magnetic paint on one side of my kitchen pantry. It suggests at least 3 coats, I used 4, but think it could use another coat. Now we use it as a photo wall for pics of our grand-daughter. The paint was messier than regular wall paint, as it has very fine metal filings in it to make the magnets stick. I'm very pleased with the final effect. I considered also painting black chalkboard paint over it, but decided to wait.
  • Lulu Dubin Lulu Dubin on Dec 24, 2014
    Maybe @ can help you with this one as well. He used it on his magnetic chalk desk: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/home-office/furniture/magnetic-chalkboard-desk-694917 I used something similar in my recent project: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/walls/keeping-a-new-year-s-resolution-personal-practical-inspiration-board-6235008 I used about 3 coats of magnetic paint. It's definitely enough to hold up the pictures, but I think I will need another layer for the chalk since it is heavier and tends to slide at this point.
  • Teresa Gonzales Teresa Gonzales on Dec 24, 2014
    Used it on a wall-used 4 coats and it held small-medium magnets. It was used to display work blue prints and did the job.
  • The Rozy Home The Rozy Home on Dec 24, 2014
    Hi Diana! It worked great for me. I painted the side of my fridge cabinet with it to make it a photo wall of the kids stuff and it's been wonderful. Having said that, I painted it on thick and did about 4 or 5 coats. I also found these little magnets at Home Depot and oh my... they are so strong that even pulling them apart is difficult.
  • Heather Brown Heather Brown on Dec 24, 2014
    I did not have much luck when I painted a kitchen wall with it... If it works let us all know!
  • Cathy Rayburn-Trobaugh Cathy Rayburn-Trobaugh on Dec 24, 2014
    I used it in my kitchen on a tall, thin wall then used chalkboard paint over it. I put on three coats then it started to get lumpy. The magnets didn't stick well even before the chalkboard paint. All in all, I wasn't very happy with it--especially because it was pricey.
  • Emily Owen Emily Owen on Dec 24, 2014
    I had a very similar experience as many other posters. I tried it on a few different surfaces and did at least 4 coats and it still didn't hold well. I was definitely not satisfied especially for the price.
  • Angela, Blue i Style Angela, Blue i Style on Feb 23, 2015
    We opted to use magnetic primer under our chalkboard paint despite having heard the same reports about it not being very strong. The reports are true, but after some testing, I found which kind of magnets do stick well to the magnetic primer, and used that info to DIY some fun alphabet magnets that work on our chalkboard wall. My son LOVES them, and it's helping him learn to read, so for us, it ended up being worth it. You can more in my Hometalk post here: http://blueistyle.blogspot.com/2014/07/DIYAlphabetMagnets.html
  • Annie Doherty Annie Doherty on Jun 25, 2016
    I found with thus paint best to use a primer first then 2/3 coats using a small roller ensuring it is thoroughly dry in between coats. I used it on an office wall and it worked perfectly. Thanks for your post.
  • Bov Bov on Feb 18, 2020

    I'm skimming a wall with sheet rock mud should this be painted before I apply magnetic Paint?