Fingernail paints. . .How To? ? ?

[Mad Slammer]

How do you paint using fingernail paint? ? ?

[slapshot]

Most finger nail paints are enamel & should be mixed accordingly. I have never used them because they seem a bit pricey. Even at Wal-mart they seem to run six bucks for a .25 oz. I have seen them for a buck a bottle but the colors just did not apeal to me @ the time.

Edited September 27, 2010 by slapshot

[sak]

I believe they need to be thinned down. I dabbled in it and I mixed one part nail polish to one part acetone and it seemed to work alright. Make sure you use primer. that stuff will chew into the plastic.

[crazyjim]

I believe I've read posts on this forum that people use lacquer thinner with nail polish. I would think you'd need several bottles of nail polish to be able to mix enough to paint a car.

Mad Slammer - check out the '62 Belair post by Torino seven. He used nail polish.

Edited September 28, 2010 by crazyjim

[george 53]

CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid, often have sales on them. Sometimes as cheep as a buck. My daughter buys them for me when she sees them on sale, so I gotta few REALLY nice colors. Haven't ACTUALLY PAINTED with them yet, but when I get around to it, I got them rascals!!!! :lol:

[crazyjim]

It's nice that your daughter gets your nail polish, George. Do you do your toenails too?

[mikelo]

i have tried a couple with fairly good results. I am not an expert by any means, but used advice offered to me. I know most, if not all nail polish bottles say enamel for some reason, but are actually more like lacquer. The advice I received was to empty the polish into an airbrush paint bottle, fill the polish bottle up with thinner, shake it up good, as to clean out the bottle. Then, empty into the airbrush bottle and mix together and it should be ready to spray. Now thinner is a area for debate. I used lacquer thinner and it worked fine. I have been told you can also use, and maybe with better results, acrylic thinner. You should try mixing whatever you use to make sure it is compatable. I had fun playing around with it and the paint does dry really hard.

Mike

[george 53]

It's nice that your daughter gets your nail polish, George. Do you do your toenails too?

Nawwww Jim, I go "Au natural". I like to paint my wifes nails though. GREAT practice for stayin INSIDE the lines!!! :D

[Scale-Master]

I have used a few different brands. Sally Hansen was on sale at the 99 cent store and had some good colors so I have used more of it than other brands. Revlon is another I have used several times.

Most are reducible with lacquer thinner, my personal preference. But test with a small amount first, some require acetone or they gel up into a snotty-globby-goop. You will know it within a minute if it is not compatible with lacquer thinner. Even if it thins with mineral spirits (enamels) lacquer thinner works better.

I start by reducing 100%; that is equal parts paint and thinner. Then adjust with more thinner as needed. Sometimes as much as another 50% more thinner. Priming helps with adhesion since I spray it a bit on the dry side to lessen the chance of it attacking the substrate. I always clear over it; urethanes work well, as do enamels. Lacquer clears can be too hot for some brands.

Let it dry for several days before clearing. Some nail polishes shrink and do funky things before they fully cure. They all dry fast, but the added reducers change the cure times. They also seem to dry from the outside in. So don’t be fooled by it being dry to the touch.

Be very careful when masking on top of it, it does not adhere as well as most “regular†model paints and can peel off easier than expected, especially when painted on raw plastic or metal.

[Chuck Most]

Just a question, is there really any advantage to using nail polish instead of your tradtional hobby and automotive paints, other than perhaps cost (I've never seen a six dollar bottle of the stuff personally, but I see them all the time for one or two bucks) and quick drying time?

[mikelo]

besides the colors, I found the nail polish to dry rock hard. Which is normally a good thing, and you can buff like crazy since it is so hard. Bad part is, I dropped a grill to my 32 ford on a concrete floor and a chip flew off of it.

Mike

[Chuck Most]

besides the colors, I found the nail polish to dry rock hard. Which is normally a good thing, and you can buff like crazy since it is so hard. Bad part is, I dropped a grill to my 32 ford on a concrete floor and a chip flew off of it.

Mike

Don't drop it next time, and you'll do just fine!

Can't tell you how many times I've rubbed through regular paint- maybe I'll have to give nail polish a shot one of these days.

[mcandela]

Dude, "LA DUDA OFENDE"...

Just thin it down 2 to 1, (2 parts thinner, 1 part paint). Mix it well and airbrush it. 25 pounds of air on the airbrush. Always spray light coats. I personnally use thinner from the hardware store, no fancy stuff. Rather spend my money on the clear I will be using on top of the nailpolish.

[Lownslow]

i can spray 2 cars with one bottle of nail polish i use the base color system since theyre kinda see through, but i dont use laquer thinner i use acrylic enamel thinner. 3 parts thinner 1 part paint.nail polish is great it offers a better range of colors

thinner part number #60 brand is Painters Pride

cant deny the results

Edited September 30, 2010 by Lownslow

[Blake Rogers]

i love it buddy

[Tonioseven]

I use laquer thinner sometimes but prefer Scalefinishes.com enamel reducer when I have it on hand. I mix it 1:1 and shoot it at around 18-25 p.s.i. depending on the consistency. I like using them because I have access to waaaaaaaay more colors than just using paints. Nail polish paintjobs I've done...

[showrodfreak]

If you have a Sally's beauty supple store they sell a small bottle of thinner made for nail polish.

here's a two dollar bottle of nail polish paint I used

[mcandela]

Solid colors come out very good to.This is after 2 part clear applied. Funny name for the red nailpolish, "GO-GO Red".

[Doughnut]

I agree with Antonio, my favorate builds were painted with nail polish, including my Plymouth Belvedere (and the Purple Ford behind it). These nail polishes were lacquer-based and thinned with lacquer thinner.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Doughnut

[dencon]

And here is mine. I just cut it with very cheap grade Wal Mart Paint Brush Cleaner Lacquer Thinner.

Edited October 7, 2010 by dencon