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We're always using magnets to hang things...whether it be office decor, documents on dry-erase boards, hanging signs with hooks, and more. Based on the number of emails we get about this type of thing, it seems like our customers do the same thing! With so many things to hang, it's worth another article - especially now that we are in the holiday season (believe it or not)!
Check out our previous How Much Will a Magnet Hold? and Leverage & Friction articles as a good primer to this article.
Do you need to hang a holiday or "Now Hiring" banner onto steel siding, but don't want to drill into it? Use magnets!
First, we'll hang up a lightweight holiday banner. For this, we used our XLTK thumbtack magnets, to color coordinate with the banner. The XLTK have plenty of pull force to the steel, allowing us to place the loop around the magnets. Using magnets allows for some unique advantages, one being that you can mount the sign low and use a long handle/pole to push the magnets and banner higher, without using a ladder. We show this in the video above.
We have Magnetic Hooks and mounting magnets that could also work for this sort of thing. The weight and size of the banner would determine which magnets to use.
Second, we'll hang up a larger, heavier "Now Hiring" banner. Utilizing the grommets our banner has in each corner, we use our MM-B-25E with some hardware to hold the sign onto the steel siding. The epoxy coating on the MM-B-25E makes them suitable for outdoor use. We found that even though a magnet in each corner was strong enough to hold the banner up, we needed additional magnets along the edges to keep it from sagging and blowing in the wind. For this, our D84PC-YEL was used.
What if your banner doesn't have grommets? You can simply sandwich the banner to the siding - you might choose one of our magnet Plastic/Rubber Coated magnets. Again, the magnets that you'll need will depend on the size, weight, and thickness of the banner. For smaller banners (a few feet long), our RX054TP-N52 or DC6TP-N52 might be our first choice. For larger banners, our stronger DX08TP-N52 or BX0X06TP-N52 might be good, at least one per corner. Similar to our previous method, you could use smaller plastic/rubber coated magnets along the edges to keep it from sagging.
Are gutters magnetic? No, most gutters are made from aluminum and are not magnetic, however, you can still use magnets to hang lights from non-magnetic gutters! Hanging string lights can be a painstaking task, especially when trying to hang them from a gutter...those plastic clips always seem to break! As shown in the above video, we used some MMS-E-C hook magnets, attracting to some NSWX02 steel washers placed inside of the gutter. This was a quick, easy way to mount a hook to a non-magnetic gutter. They were also easy to remove and reuse for next year - unless you just want to leave the lights up year round :).
If you have steel siding or steel gutters, simply use some of our magnetic hooks or our MMS-E magnets, stuck to the steel.
Do you want to host an outdoor movie night but don't know where to put the TV? If you have a steel garage door, or steel siding, you can use magnets to mount it! Most newer TV's have either M4, M6 or M8 threaded holes in the back for mounting.
First, we mounted a computer monitor using some MM-C-20 magnets. 4 of these held the monitor well, but it wasn't impossible to remove it. The MM-C-20 have an M4 threaded stud, which screwed right into the monitor.
Next, we hung a 32" TV using 4 MM-B-42 mounting magents, with some M6 screws, threaded right into the TV mounting holes. Again, these held strong, but it wasn't impossible to remove the TV from the steel door either. If you wanted to prevent the magnets from scratching the surface, you could place an MM-RC-42 rubber cover over the magnets. The rubber covers also add friction, to prevent the magnets from sliding down.
Our Rubber Mounting Magnets could be another good option, although you would have to source some additional hardware since they come with a counterbore hole. The rubber coating helps prevent the magnets from sliding down a vertical surface.
Make Clark Griswold jealous by using magnets to mount your larger holiday ornaments! We screwed two RE22CS-N magnets into the feet of this scarecrow, and can mount it on any steel surface with ease! Check out the video at the beginning of this article to watch how we can even throw him into place.
The magnets that you'll need for something like this would heavily depend on the size and weight of the figurine. Keep in mind that the taller the figurine is, the more leverage it will put on the magnet. See our previous Leverage & Friction article for good information.
Consider some of our Countersunk Magnets or our Rubber Mounting Magnets for this kind of thing.
We've been getting this question more often, especially with the increasingly popular Starlink satellite service. One of our customers used 3 RMD-B-Z0 to place his Starlink satellite dish onto his metal roof - with great results!
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