putting objects on top of other objects

i have this jpanel, which at first i have under my other panels, but then after i use the panel, then it goes in front, and then i cannot display the text on the other panels, how do i force these other panels on top of the first panel .. ?? any suggestions are welcome..

to the comments: well, i don't use a layout manager, and its when i set it to visible=开发者_Python百科false and then makes another object on top, then when i set visible=true then i cannot read the labels on the now visible object.

you can experiment with setComponentZOrder(Component comp, int index)