Another use for nail polish

[darkside]

I'm a big fan of using nail polish for painting models. I like the idea of just running to the drugstore and finding a really cool color for 2 bucks.

I just realized how well the brush inside it is for cleaning my airbrush. On my spray and touch up guns, I use acid/epoxy tin handled brushes for cleaning hard to reach places but they are a bit clumsy and big for the AB.

When you use all the nail polish, clean the jar and brush with lacquer thinner, then fill the bottle with the same. You now have a great little brush for reaching into the color cup and any other spot that's hard to reach with a rag. When your done, put the cap back on until you need it again.

I found the brush soft enough to clean the aircap/head assembly without harming the needle.

[harron68]

Great tip and I never thought about it, but the applicator brush in the jar is soft and would work well. How about tips or a tutorial on using nail polish? How thin to make it and how different is using it from, say, water based acrylic paint? Thanx

[darkside]

Spraying nail polish (NP) is pretty much like spraying a lacquer, I thin it with lacquer thinner (LT). This is a guess, I bet you could thin it with acetone also, but I would stick with the thinner. You can get a qt. of LT at Ace hardware for about 5 bucks if I remember correctly. Whenever buying thinners or reducers, check the qt. vs gal. price. Many times a gallon can be bought for just a little over the price of 2 qts., so it's much cheaper to buy a gallon.

Nail polish is very transparent, it's meant to be brushed on thick and two coats when used for nails. By the time you thin it, depending on the color, it can be very transparent.

For example the color I picked for the Corvair body was extremely transparent, yet the color for the frame covered very well.





The Corvair was sprayed over a white base and took about 8 coats to cover. The frame was two over a grey primer base. It's best to spray a test pattern over your base to get an idea of the coverage it will have. If you do have a very transparent color, it's best to lay a base down in a similar color.

On the Woody, I used a base of Folk Art acrylic base in a very similar color. The NP adhered to the acrylic very well, I even tried to get it to lift on my test panel by aggressively taping and removing the tape. It didn't budge. I applied the Acrylic over lacquer primer and heat set it between coats. These acrylics are also very transparent and easy to run once thinned enough for the airbrush. A bit of a learning curve is needed to use them. Regular airbrush acrylics cover very well, but I have yet to use them as a base.

The acrylic base.



The NP. I think it was two coats to get the coverage.



Other than what little tips I gave you, I would treat it like any other lacquer.

I hope that helped and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[johnj]

Darkside: Hope you don't mind if I add a bit here. I thin the nail polish a bit more than regular paint. For me it works out to about 1 lacquer thinner to 2 nail polish. Then I shoot it at about 30 pounds. For me this seems to be the best pressure. Something else to remember is that the nail polish dries pretty flat and will require polishing and a good clear coat. I'm like you, I love the variety of colors available in nail polish. One last suggestion, look for nail polish at the local Dollar Store; 2.00 is nice but 1.00 is even nicer.

[darkside]

John, The more info the better.

[Gothic Kustomz]

I use nail polish, farting around, on test bodies, but I cut mine about 50/50, over a dupli-color primer, works great, and if you have the money, go check out Sallys Salon supplies, some really kewl kolors there too, put can get real pricy fast....

[Steve-o]

Thanks for the great tip !!! ;D ;D

[harron68]

Most excellent, thanks! Also glad to get ideas on number of coats and primers!

[rustyrat1960]

;D
Great tips Dave!!
Thank You for sharing with Us here!!
I will be trying them out!!
Later
Russ