New car magnets

[steved0x]

I had ordered some round magnets and the lettering was way too small so rather than order another set I decided to make my own using laser weatherproof vinyl shipping labels and some magnet sheet off of Amazon. I reused the round magnet for my SCCA class (I am back in BS) and made the other one out of magnet sheet. If they hold up I can make a DIY but even if they last only a season or two they were *way* cheaper than the commercial magnets. Thanks to Fred for giving me some starter Adobe illustrator files.

[JayG]

great idea!
Details of the products you used

I made a pair for a DE I was going to using some magnetic "paper" I bought at Michaels. It was 8.5 x 11. I printed the numbers on some large label stock I had and then used packing tape over them to "waterproof " them

Yours look MUCH better

[thstone]

Very professional! Great job.

[steved0x]

For the labels I used these:

http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Weatherproof-Shipping-Labels-8-5-Inches/dp/B00006IBUY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1422454176&sr=8-5&keywords=avery+weatherproof+labels

I bought a 10 pack from Office Max. I could not find single sheet 8.5x11 Avery weatherproof vinyl laser labels, but having two 8.5x5.5 labels on one sheet doesn't pose much of a problem. They butt right against each other and when you apply them to the car you can barely tell. (There a few other brands on Amazon with full sheet 8.5x11 laser weatherproof vinyl labels but they don't have free shipping and come in packs of 100 so I didn't use them) I tape the seam with blue painters tape and apply the label like a Band-Aid, where I start on end, and then slide the backing out, which pulls down the remainder of the label. I have a helper to hold the magnet and help keep the vinyl laying down flat as I apply it to reduce air bubbles.

The magnet sheet I bought was this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PSL68C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is 1/64" and is very close to the thickness of the round pre-made magnet that I bought. It was very easy to cut with scissors too.

I also bought a sheet of this because I read that .030 mil is the thickness to use, but it was much thicker than my premade commercial round magnets and so I used the thinner sheet, which seems to stick to the car very well.
Flexible Magnetic Sheet, White Vinyl, Sign Blank, 0.030" Thick, 12" Wide, 24" Length (Pack of 1): Industrial Flexible Magnets: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Both sheets came in a roll about the size of a paper towel tube, but I unrolled them onto the side of a metal filing cabinet and they flattened out in no time.

Another possible option instead of weatherproof vinyl shipping labels would be something called "laser vinyl" which comes in rolls, and is similar to what you get when you order an adhesive vinyl decal except that you can print on it with a laser printer. I couldn't find any of that cheap enough, and I believe that the laser vinyl shipping labels are very similar and more convenient in that they come on sheets.

A couple of folks asked why I didn't just order new ones, or what was wrong with my premade magnets. I ordered them from TrackDecals.com which I love and is where I order all my track outlines from. For Christmas I ordered a total of 8 magnets: Car numbers for me and my son, and SCCA class magnets for me and my son. I specified 8" and 4" and round magnets. What I got was an 8" magnet with car numbers only about 3" high, with no attempt to lay them out and fill the circle. The 4" class magnets had letters that were around 1.5" high. It was mostly white space above and below the numbers/letters. Totally tiny and unusable. They came in right before an autocross and they let us run with them "this" time but fix it before we come back (I wish I had a picture) Other than that they looked great. I didn't want to spend another $75 on more magnets so I decided to make some and get exactly the fonts/design I wanted

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by thstone

Very professional! Great job.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by JayG

Yours look MUCH better

Let me call out Fred one more time, he provided the starter files to help get me going. Before his help, the best I came up with was the following:



That is a font I have seen some Boxster race cars, and is called "Agency FB".

This was a replacement number layout to fill my 8" circle magnet. I made this and took it to Roebling Road last weekend, where they too let me run with it just that once but said to fix it before I came back because it was too hard to read from a distance If It was bigger or bold I think it make a great looking number, but fitting onto an 8" round magnet was just too tiny.

[BRAN]

Very cool and great idea, Steved0x!

I used the following online company to create my magnetic decals (seal grey Boxster thread).
Was one single sheet, before i cut it. Fast, easy, high quality and low costs:
100mph...no problem...they probably even stick @ 200mph

http://www.vistaprint.com/category/magnets.aspx?xnav=swsProductOnly_ResultTitle

I am sure, there are more companies out there with equivalent offers.

[steved0x]

This one?

Seal Grey Boxster Thread

Very cool, very cool wheels too.

$20 for an 11x17 magnet with a custom uploaded design (well maybe the price goes up once you add a design) that you can then trim out, you can't beat that. I may try that myself!

[Perfectlap]

I made my own as well. Can't find the pic right now. I printed out the numbers in Word. Then I went to Kinkos and had an over-sized black and white copy made for each door. I cut a half inch white border or so around the numbers. They laminated the numbers for me and I glued these business card magnets that they sell at Staples in a pack of 10 or something to the back of the numbers at the corners. I don't think I spent $30 total. The custom numbering guys wanted like $100 for both sides.
Tip: lay down some blue painters tape so that the magnet isn't sliding on the bare paint.