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What is a magnetic board?
It is now common to speak of "magnetic chalkboards" when these attract magnets.
Actually, it wouldn't be completely correct to call them with that name, as these boards aren't actually magnetic per se.
However, the term now identifies this type of product.
How does a magnetic chalkboard work?
First of all, to attract magnets you need iron.
Whether your board is made of ferritic steel, plastic, glass, or is simply a coat of paint on the wall, its power to attract magnets will simply come from the amount of iron it contains.
So, the more iron we have, the more attraction the chalkboard exerts.
This is the reason why some blackboards attract magnets more than others.
Secondly, the thicker the surface, the more the magnets will hold onto it.
Therefore, in order to exert a good magnetic attraction, the sheet of metal of which a blackboard is made needs to be thick enough.
What is the best magnetic chalkboard?
Actually, there is no definitive answer to this question.
There are many types of magnetic boards on the market: all have some points of strength and weakness.
The choice of the best blackboard comes from the use it is intended for.
To better understand which is the best solution for you, here are some features of the different solutions available on the market.
Blackboards made of iron or ferritic steel
The painting of blackboards produced with iron sheets can be carried out industrially both with liquid paints or with powder paints.
Dry Erase Magnetic Whiteboards
- Writable with dry erase markers
- Smooth white surface with no porosity
- Available with or without frame
- Some of them have an iron core upon which the writable surface is glued; others are directly painted with suitable paints.
Black magnetic boards
- Writable with liquid chalk markers
- Moderately porous surface, to facilitate writing also with ordinary chalks
- Also in this case you can find blackboards with or without frames
Magnetic boards with coloured paints
- Smooth or porous surface, depending on the production characteristics.
- They can be written with whiteboard markers if the paints used allow it, or with chalks or liquid chalk markers.
Magnetic boards made of plastoferrite
Plastoferrite is usually a soft, smooth and rubbery material, which can also be magnetized.
Magnetic blackboards made of plastoferrite are normally writable both with whiteboard markers and with liquid chalk markers.
However, they may not always be suitable for supporting magnetic containers, especially if they are very heavy.
Magnetic boards made of glass
With their modern and aesthetically pleasing appearance, magnetic glass boards have a very smooth and non-porous surface.
Furthermore, tempered glass may have a great variety of colours, adapting to any environment.
They can be written on with whiteboard markers or liquid chalk markers, depending on the manufacturer's instructions.
Since the glass board has less magnetic power than normal metal chalkboards, it is necessary to use accessories with very strong neodymium magnets, as normal magnets would be too weak.
Therefore, if you are looking for a board to display your fridge magnet collection, a glass board may not be the best solution.
Chalkboard and magnetic paint
Magnetic paint can also be a good solution, especially if you want to create a magnetic surface that occupies an entire wall.
There are different types of chalkboard effect paint on the market, but normally, the painted surface is quite porous.
So it is important to follow the manufacturers' directions for choosing the best writing tools.
On the other hand, the magnetic attraction exerted on the magnets is not very high. As you have well learned by now, it will depend on the amount of iron present inside the paint!
You can apply more coats of paint to increase its magnetic force, which in any case will not be as high as that of ferritic steel.
In conclusion…what are KalaMitica chalkboards made of?
As you can see, there are plenty of choices and it is important to understand which is the best for you, according to the use and the place in which you want to install it.
In addition, one needs to pay attention to the markers and pens to use. In some cases, they can leave marks that are difficult to clean. (We recommend that you also read this article if you want to know more about how to clean your magnetic board.)
What solutions do we offer?
For us, KalaMitica is a magnetic system helping you to organize your rooms vertically.
This is why our magnetic boards are made from iron sheets, which are then powder coated.
We chose a thickness of 1.2 mm, to guarantee our customers a good attraction of any type of magnet, and not just the permanent neodymium magnets we use for our containers and accessories.
Hoping that the explanations we gave in this article can be useful to you, we advise you to read suggestions and instructions provided by the various manufacturers, for a conscious and correct purchase based on your particular needs.
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