by administrator | Apr 17, 2024 | Blog
Magnetic boards are a brilliant addition to the learning environment. They have helped teachers enhance the dynamics of the classroom for years. But as education evolves and the needs of the students change the magnetic boards must give way to modern alternatives with multifaceted functionalities.
This is why so many schools are choosing to swap their magnetic boards for magnetic surface products instead. There are plenty to choose from too. Paints, wallpapers and plasters that can all add magnetic functionality to your classroom. The best part is that these magnetic surfaces can also work as whiteboards and projection screens.
Replace Magnetic Boards with Magnetic Wallpaper
One of the most popular product alternatives to magnetic boards is magnetic whiteboard wallpaper. Instead of having a magnetic board with a standalone feature, you can cover all walls of a classroom with a magnetic whiteboard wallpaper which gives your classroom writable walls that attract magnets. With this upgrade you eliminate the size limitation of a magnetic board, maximize the writable surface, and create an integrated space for writing, drawing, and sticking objects with magnets.
There are even more interesting opportunities once you decide to go for wallpapers. The Magnetic Whiteboard Projection Wallpaper by Smarter Surfaces gives you a writable surface with ferromagnetic qualities that can also be used as a projection screen. That’s three functionalities tied into one incredible product with a 10-year performance guarantee.
All you need is some vinyl over vinyl adhesive and a step-by-step guide to installing the wallpaper.
Magnetic Paint for a more cost-effective solution
If you aren’t sure about replacing your magnetic boards with wallpaper, why not opt for one of our paint alternatives instead? Smarter Surfaces offers two categories of magnetic paint with varying magnetite content. Yes, magnetite is the material that endows a common paint with ferromagnetic qualities.
The magnetic paint has a 55% magnetite content which enables you to stick up to 4 sheets of A4-size paper on a wall with a single neodymium magnet. The super magnetic paint has a higher magnetite content at 60% and it lets you stick 5 sheets of paper with one magnet.
All you need to apply the magnetic paint on your classroom walls is included in the product packages along with a step-by-step application guide.
You can lay down a few coats of white primer followed by a coat of the smart whiteboard paint on top of a wall covered with the magnetic paint, to turn it into a large magnetic whiteboard wall.
Magnetic plaster for a significant improvement
The magnetic plaster by Smarter Surfaces is a two-coat high-performance commercial-grade plaster that transforms any wall into a smooth and high-performance magnetic surface.
With a 75% magnetite content, the magnetic plaster is by far the strongest product for creating magnetic surfaces. You can use a wall plastered with this like any other wall. Maybe you can apply a digital wall print to it or hang photo frames, canvases, and even television sets from the wall (provided you have magnets that are strong enough).
Magnetic Plaster comes premixed and it can be applied just like any standard plaster.
As our Plaster has a dark grey finish, top coat with a colour of your own choice or even add a product from our dry erase range such as the whiteboard paint, or a whiteboard wallpaper.
Use your magnetic walls for projection and writing
We have already talked at length about the multifaceted functionality of Smarter Surfaces products. We offer you the opportunity to accentuate the impact of a magnetic surface by topping it off with additional characteristics like writability and projectability. We have designed product packages to help you achieve that without the hassle of researching and finding compatible products individually.
Take the magnetic whiteboard paint product package for instance. It comes with a unit of magnetic paint, a unit of whiteboard paint, most of the equipment you need to apply the products, complete application guide, and an application video. You can apply it by yourself with no professional help. The paints exceed all regulatory guidelines and are safe to be used around children and pregnant women.
If you want to add another functionality to your magnetic whiteboard wall and make it also work as a projection screen, just choose a different product grouping – use a low sheen whiteboard paint on top of a primed magnetic wall. With a low gloss level, this paint creates a decent projection surface which is also writable. Similar functionalities can be achieved by using the wallpaper range as we’ve mentioned earlier.
The Smarter Surfaces website does a brilliant job of describing all its product in meticulous detail. And our product experts are ready to help you at every turn in terms of choosing the right product, and navigating the application procedure. Book a free video consultation now to show us the surfaces you’re planning to transform.
by administrator | Sep 12, 2018 | Blog
What we call magnetic whiteboard paint is not a single product but rather a combination of multiple products and specific application processes that lead to a magnetic whiteboard wall. The magic is in the products and the processes are simple.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the benefits of magnetic whiteboard paint for offices – the products you can use, the performance you can expect, and the measures you can take to give it a long life.
What is magnetic paint and how does it work?
Magnetic paint is paint infused with magnetite – a ferrimagnetic mineral ore. Any surface painted with it gets ferrimagnetic properties. That means it develops a magnetic pull and attracts magnets.
You can use magnetic paint directly on any smooth, non-porous surface. 4-5 coats of magnetic paint should enable any surface to hold 4 to 5 sheets of A4-size paper with one neodymium magnet.
In an office space, a magnetic wall can be used to stick memos, notes, photographs, charts, and even heavier objects depending on the treatment of the wall and the size of the magnets.
Different magnetic whiteboard paints for offices
Smarter Surfaces lets you choose among two kinds of magnetic paints, magnetic plaster, and magnetic wallpapers. In the sections that follow, we’ll walk you through the key features of these products and how they can add a collaborative flair to your workspace.
Magnetic Paint
The magnetic paint by Smarter Surfaces is a dark grey paint with a 55% magnetite content. You can apply it on walls, plaster, concrete, wood, metal, doors or any smooth surface. You need a minimum of 4 coats and a maximum of 7 coats of paint to create sufficient magnetic pull for holding 4 sheets of A4-size paper with one neodymium magnet.
The paint has very low VOC (<12g/l), no PFOA & PFOS, and it is solvent-free. It is an environmentally friendly product that exceeds all regional quality and safety standards.Smarter Surfaces’ magnetic paint is priced at $114 for 2.28 kg. It is enough to cover a 3m² area. A bigger tin containing 5.56 kg of paint costs $306 and it covers 9m² of area.
Super Magnetic Paint
Super magnetic paint is a superior version of magnetic paint with a higher magnetite content. It has more than 60% magnetite and offers better magnetic pull than regular magnetic paint. It is a great fit for digital wall prints.
Just like all Smarter Surfaces products, super magnetic paint has very low VOC and it is free of PFOA, PFOS, and solvents.
2500 ml of Super Magnetic paint will cost you $210. It covers an area of 6m²
Magnetic Plaster>
Magnetic plaster is the strongest solution for building magnetic surfaces. It is a pre-mixed plaster with a 75% magnetite content. You can directly apply it to a wall like a regular plaster. You can paint over it or use it as a magnetic wall 24 hours after application. You can get 10 kg of magnetic plaster which covers 6m² for $269.
Magnetic plaster allows your regular wall to hold eight sheets of A4-size paper with a single neodymium magnet. That means with larger magnets you can mount much heavier things on the magnetic plaster. Our customers have mounted television sets and canvases on magnetic plaster using large and powerful magnets. The surface area of the magnet is the key to expanding the functionality of the wall.
Creating a magnetic whiteboard
As we mentioned earlier, magnetic whiteboard paint is a combination of products applied in a specific sequence. Here is how you can create a magnetic whiteboard wall for your office.
As we’ve already discussed, you can create a magnetic wall using magnetic paint, super magnetic paint, or magnetic plaster. Regardless of which one of these you choose, you must start with a smooth, consistent, non-porous wall.
So, prepare your surface by filling the holes, sanding the lumps, and priming it if needed. Once the surface is ready, you can apply 4-7 coats of paint or 2 coats of plaster to it. You must wait for one coat to dry before applying the next one. The wait time is 2-3 hours for magnetic paint and at least 6 hours for the plaster.
Once all the coats are done and dry. You can choose either of two paths – a white whiteboard paint or a clear whiteboard paint.
If you want to apply white whiteboard paint, you’ll need to conceal the dark grey magnetic paint using a water-based white primer. You may need 2-4 coats of primer for the job. After the primer dries up with no sign of moisture, you can apply the white whiteboard paint.
If you decide to have a coloured magnetic whiteboard wall, you can put the coloured paint on the magnetic wall and let it dry for at least 12 hours. Once the paint is dry, you can apply a coat of clear whiteboard paint.
4 days after the application of paint, your magnetic whiteboard wall will be ready to use.
You can get the magnetic whiteboard paint white kit to cover 6m² for $558 and the magnetic whiteboard clear kit for the same area for $526.
Magnetic whiteboard wallpaper
The alternative to magnetic whiteboard paint for offices is magnetic whiteboard wallpaper. The magnetic whiteboard wallpaper can be applied on any wall using a vinyl over vinyl adhesive. It is easy to apply and becomes ready to use as soon as the adhesive dries up.
Smarter Surfaces has designed a three-in-one wallpaper that has magnetic qualities, and dry-erase properties and works as a projection screen. The projection screen magnetic whiteboard wallpaper is the ultimate magnetic whiteboard solution for offices. It fits perfectly in meeting rooms where strategic discussions can take a whole new dimension through its use.
Magnetic wallpapers start from $350.
All Smarter Surfaces products are very adaptable in different situations. For instance, while the clear whiteboard paint is not suitable for direct application on a wooden wall, you can easily solve that by applying a coat of clear primer first. Nevertheless, there is always one best product for every situation and our product advisors can help you find that. Book a free video consultation now.
