Fingernail Polish. Yes, but...

[Lunajammer]

I've seen people have great success airbrushing finishes with fingernail polish. But the one time I tried it, went on great, but took MONTHS to dry before it occurred to me that fingernail polish is designed to stay a little soft so it protects the nail and doesn't chip.

How are you supposed to surface finish fingernail polish? Can it not be sanded and rubbed out? Are there brands that dry hard in a few days? Is it like candies where you don't touch it and instead polish a clearcoat layer? Once it's laid do you call it good, as is? What do you know about what to do AFTER it's been laid down?

[Greg Wann]

I have airbrushed nail polish with pretty good success. Actually it dries very quickly and I have found it to be, well.....Hard as nails! After it dried I wet sanded it with a 2400 cloth and then polished it with my Bare Metal Foil plastic polish. I would post a pic but not sure how.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Greg Wann

[Jantrix]

Luna, I don't know what kind you used, but nail polish is a VERY hard finish. If your's stayed soft, then there is something wrong. It should dry very quickly.

[MikeMc]

Shout out to Tonio 7.

Antonio shoots lots of polish and it is rock hard. What are you using to thin it?

[Greg Wann]

While most experienced painters may know what to thin it with, I was not certain. My first attempt was to figure that if the remover removed it, it would thin it as well. BAD IDEA! In my area we have SALLY BEAUTY supply stores. And sure enough they carry a four once bottle of thinner for about a $2.50. If you get a card I think it is cheaper. They carry all kinds of cool colors too. I'm kind of curious why all the big box stores sell all kinds of removers, but they sell no thinners. Like Tamaya paint I think they are some kind of hybrid paint. I painted a seat once with Tamaya racing red and two hours later I could not get it to come off. The only thing that would budge it was MR. PAINT REMOVER. That stuff smells kind of like SASSAFRAS tea. Here is a Car I built and put nail polish on it. Yes, I know the spoiler is on backwards. It was a poor fit either way and I was not paying any attention to what I was doing.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Greg Wann

[Art Anderson]

It's been a few years since I've sprayed fingernail polish, but ordinary lacquer thinner will thin it for airbrushing.

Art

[Lunajammer]

Thanks everybody for your input. I had used lacquer thinner for airbrushing and it went over a base of duplicolor lacquer silver. Months later I could still put a dent in the finish with my thumbnail. From your responses I've come to believe it was probably the polish itself and that if I try it one more time with, maybe a different brand, I might have different results. At least I have more confidence in trying it again. Thanks.