[splatz]

I like them, the work great, but you have to find a brand with good adhesive, or screw them in as @SWDweller says. With the perforated subpanels screwing them in is easier and comes out nicer.

The magdaddies are fantastic as @460 Delta says but a bit pricey. You can use magdaddies with a velcro loop to wire things then replace them with sticky backs and cable ties when you're done.

 

[splatz]

I bought some old school nylon cable lacing tape. I've been known to use it instead of zip ties in control panels. In a breaker box I normally end up cutting any zip ties off and throwing them on the ground before I put the cover back on.

I still occasionally use waxed string, I have a few rolls left, more than I have time left to use. But usually for telecom. Have you seen the NASA PDF (attached)?

 

[splatz]

If I’m the poor slob going into that panel after Leonardo DaVinci finished his masterpiece, I’m snipping tie wraps and tugging on wires just to re-arrange things. No thanks. Make it reasonably neat and put the cover on.

I do the same thing, even if I put the cable ties back on, it's quicker to remove them all. If you want to keep it tidy while you work, put new ones on loose while you work then tighten them and tidy everything when you're done.

With solid wire in residential panels, cable ties are unnecessary. Tight bundles are just making a little more heat in a tight box where nobody can see them.

 

[splatz]

I like them, the work great, but you have to find a brand with good adhesive, or screw them in as @SWDweller says. With the perforated subpanels screwing them in is easier and comes out nicer.

The magdaddies are fantastic as @460 Delta says but a bit pricey. You can use magdaddies with a velcro loop to wire things then replace them with sticky backs and cable ties when you're done.

BTW, There is one step you can't skip with the sticky backs, you have to have a clean surface, and you have to use something that leaves no residue. Even if it's right out of the box from the factory, you have to wipe it down with paper towels or big microfiber rag or even better magic eraser wet in rubbing alcohol. Do not be stingy with the alcohol and paper towels and don't halfass the cleaning. The 90% alcohol dries faster but the 70% from the $1.25 store works fine. The little alcohol wipes work if you get good ones and they're not dried out and you use enough and if the surface is almost perfect before you start.

The good ones with genuine 3M adhesive or others that are as good stick so well, they're hard to pry off years later, if you pry it off the foam tears in half and you have a square of adhesive and foam on the paint that's not easy to remove. The crappy ones won't stay on long enough to get the door shut.

AND, they don't stick to plastic as well over time. You might think they're working great but in six months, you'll open the panel and they'll all be dangling like you never stuck them on.

 

[splatz]

So there's not code issues drilling screws/self-tappers into the side of panels?

A lot of the responses were for use in control panels. Control panel enclosures usually have what they call a subpanel, but not a subpanel in the usual sense, the subpanel is a sheet metal on standoffs off the back of the enclosure. The standoffs give you some space so you can screw things into the subpanel.

I don't think you'd get into a code debate with an inspector over zipping small self tapping screws from the inside out, but I couldn't guarantee it. I guess you could say that screw doesn't bond itself adequately so that could be an issue. Of course it could void a NEMA rating.

 

[splatz]

That's what I do as well, self-tapping wafers for duct and rail.

For other non-rail mount devices I will drill and tap, such as a control transformer.

I use 10-32 thread cutting hex-washer head screws (not to be confused with thread forming or self tapping). I get the correct sized drill bits in the stubby double-ended style, they work great and they're cheap in fiv-packs. This takes only a little more time than self tapping screws and you get a solid bond and full strength if you have to remove and replace things.