Vehicle Magnets (Decals)

A vehicle magnet turns a personal truck or car into a work vehicle and back again in about ten seconds. That is the whole product, and it is why trades, contractors and service businesses buy them instead of a wrap.

It matters for more than convenience. A wrap is permanent, expensive and follows you to the grocery store and the school run. A magnet lets you be a plumbing company on Tuesday and an ordinary vehicle on Saturday. It also survives a change of van — peel it off the old one, put it on the new one.

If the branding is going on permanently and you want it to look seamless, you want printed vinyl or a wrap instead. Magnets are for anything that has to come off.

This is where vehicle magnet orders go wrong, and none of it is obvious until the magnet arrives.

It must be steel. Magnets do not stick to aluminum, fiberglass or plastic body panels. A good number of modern vans and pickups have aluminum doors or plastic cladding. Take a fridge magnet out to your vehicle and test the exact panel before you order — it takes thirty seconds.

It must be flat. Body creases, swage lines and curved panels stop the magnet making full contact, and a magnet that is only touching at the edges will lift at highway speed. Measure the genuinely flat area, not the whole door.

Check the size against the panel, not the door. Handles, trim strips and window lines all eat into usable space.

Take them off and clean under them weekly. Grit and moisture get trapped between the magnet and the paint. Left for months, that marks the paint and the magnet stops sitting flat. Remove, wipe both surfaces, dry, put back.

Both surfaces clean and dry on application. A magnet applied over dust or water will not hold properly.

Take them off for the car wash. Brushes catch the leading edge and the wash is where most lost magnets are lost.

Store them flat. Rolled or folded magnets take a permanent curl and never sit flush again. Flat, on a metal surface, is ideal — the side of a filing cabinet works.

It is read from another lane, often at speed, by someone who has a couple of seconds. Three things earn their place: what you do, your name, and a phone number large enough to read and remember.

Lead with the trade rather than the company name. "DALLAS PLUMBING" tells someone what you do; a stylized monogram does not. High contrast, no thin script, and keep everything clear of the outer inch where the edge gets handled.

A licence number belongs on there if your trade requires it. A web address usually does not — nobody types a URL from a moving vehicle.