We've used them for a number of years. Things to watch out for are keeping them away from electronic equipment etc. People with pacemakers need to be aware of them. They are very powerful and can shatter if they snap together quickly and hurt your fingers :-) Also, if you stitch them into anything some say that they can magnetise your needle plate. I thought this might happen but it hasn't to us even after several year of using them.

Hope that helps.

Sounds interesting, where do you use them the most?

We use them in blinds and curtains. Not used them on panels, but that sounds interesting I must say.

Thanks Darren! I am going to try some on some door panels I'm about to make on a 41 ford so no electronics to wory about. I am thinking of securing them with epoxy to the panels and see how that works?

I use them on compartments. like glove boxes, arm rests trunk storage etc. Rather than Using a knob that you turn to unlatch a compartment in a trunk storage area. Or a cabinet style fixture to keep a door closed. I have never tried using for door panels. You'll want to use Neodymium/rare earth magnets, they are very powerful and easy to hide. A good place to get them are computer repair shops. The magnets are used to spin hard drives. My local surplus store also has them, so you may want to try that too.

That sounds great. Would love to hear how it goes.

Yeah they’re the magnets you’ll want. Try First4magnets online. They’re dead helpful. Or Guy’s Magnets.

How do you guys attach them to the panels? What can you use that's strong enough to prevent them from pulling off?

The ones I use have holes. So I'll use screws or rivets to hold them in place. In the picture, the one on the left is out of a hard drive. The one on the right was purchased from Amazon. You'll only need one magnet on one side. Then just hide a washer on the opposite. This setup was strong enough to hold through carpet and 2 layers of vinyl

Just ordered these from amazon, cheap too.

Oh that's awesome! I didn't know that they could be attached with screws like that. Thanks Andy

Those are the exact magnets I have. Just be careful

They are very powerful and can shatter if they snap together quickly — Darren Rawlings

I was playing with them a few weeks ago and broke one like Darren mentioned! If you do attach them to your panels I would make sure they are covered with some vinyl, leather or trunk liner to add a bit of shock absorption.

I used magnets like Andy mentions to attach a headliner in a mid-sixties Dodge pickup. If anyone knows these trucks, you also know how there’s an inner “wall” around the majority of the upper cab area, but an opening overhead. The magnets were the best option vs fabbing a structure to hold the headliner piece in the opening. I laid out a grid of magnets, attached with machine screws and nuts w/ a little loctite, to my luan backer and covered the panel. When I installed it, the magnets were strong enough to pull the panel in place when I got about an inch away from the surface. I’m confident the panel is secure and the grid of magnets will eliminate any potential sag as the interior gets some age on it.

Thanks Andy and Tim. They arrive tomorrow and also ordered bars with holes. Makes sense to cover in vinyl if they are that strong.

neodine magnets are awesome!

They sure are!!

SEMA Battle of the builders ? If so That mirandabuilts they a shop near me in delray beach they said there called earthmagnets.... you might if seen there nova meguires uses it at all the shows they put out some awesome builds

That was it. I purchased some of the earth magnets and will see what happens. The are brittle as Darren said. I have broke a couple just messing with them so I will wrap in vinyl before use.

I'm 2 years behind on this post, just coming across it now. This is such a cool idea! Anyone have any pictures/description/ideas of how they would attach the magnets to door panels or carpets? Really cool idea!

I just found it, too! I purchased some bar magnets to try

@Karen Ethridge I just got in some round ones! I'm going to try them in 2 different ways.

1) I'm using them on door panels made of panel board. I inlaid them in the panel board and stuck them in place with urethane. Hopefully that's strong enough to hold them!

2) I'm going to use them to hold down the carpet in a rat rod. They don't want any carpet underlay so I'm just going to sew them to the back of the carpet to hold it in place.

I'll let you know how it turns out!