So you want to rubber coat your magnets...
Well,
here are simple instructions showing you how we coat
our neodymium magnets with Plasti-Dip or other,
similar rubberized coating. Plasti-Dip and
other brands of rubberized coatings can be purchased
at most hardware and home improvement stores in the
tool section, since it is most commonly used to
rubber coat the handles of hand tools.
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1. What you will need:
a)
Magnets size and shape of your choice
(purchased from K&J Magnetics, of course) b) Plasti-Dip or
similar rubberized coating c)
Glass jar for storing Plasti-Dip - one per
color d)
A flat metal
surface to attach the magnets for drying (We use an old fridge door) e)
Bolts of length 3/4" to 1 1/2" and diameter
to work with the size magnet you are dipping
- one per magnet f)
Bottle cap from your favorite beverage - one per magnet (Should be twist off so it isn't bent) g) Toothpicks (optional) - handy for popping unwanted bubbles
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2. All rubberized coatings
come in a sealed metal can. Neodymium
magnets are strongly attracted to metal, so
as you can imagine, it is quite difficult to
get the magnet in, and back out of the narrow can
without it becoming stuck to the sides.
You will have to pour the rubber coating
into a resealable glass jar. The jar
should have as wide a mouth as possible to
give you more room to work. Wide-mouth
pint sized Mason jars work very well for
this. |
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3. Make sure your flat metal surface
is clear and ready and that one bolt
attached to one magnet will stand on the
bolt as shown. This will be the drying
position for the dipped magnets. |
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4. Make sure your Plasti-Dip is mixed
well before proceeding.
Take one magnet
with a bolt attached and use the bolt as a
handle to dip the magnet into the rubberized
coating. We have found that the best
results are obtained if you dip slowly and
stop about 1/16" -1/8" from the edge of the
face that the bolt is on. Allow the
excess rubber coating to drip back into the
jar. Spinning the magnet slowly during
this time helps to keep the coating even. |
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5. Place
the bolt and magnet assembly on your flat
metal surface. If you are dipping more
than one magnet, do the same with the
others, making sure to keep sufficient
distance between the drying magnets.
If the magnets get too close together, they
can jump to each other and things can
get quite messy. |
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6. After
the first coat of rubber is dry, place the
flat part of a bottle cap on the rubberized
side of the magnet. Then remove the
bolt from the uncoated side of the magnet
and place it on the bottle cap. For
small magnets, the bottle cap is not
necessary - simply stick the rubber coated
side of the magnet to the bolt. |
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7. Dip the
uncoated side of the magnet into the rubber
coating, again, stopping 1/16" - 1/8" from
the edge near the bottle cap. For the
picture, we used a different color for the
second dip to make it easier to see. |
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8. Repeat steps 6 and 7,
alternating sides of the magnet, until desired
rubber thickness is achieved. We have
found that 4-8 coats per side seems to work
best. |
| 9.
You will now have a colorful, well-protected and
weather-proof neodymium magnet. The
rubber coating will protect your magnet very
well from damage due to contact with other
magnets and hard surfaces. If the
rubber coating becomes damaged or worn,
simply cut it off and recoat your magnet
with the rubberized coating. |
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