Finger Nail Polish as finish??

[K-9 Man]

Hello all,

My brother told me he saw an article on here on how to use finger nail polish as a finish on pens. Does any one know where I can find this or has anyone used finger nail polish as a finish?

Thanks, I am always willing to try different finishes.

Ernie

 

[plantman]

:bananen_smilies022:Ernie; I have used fingernail polish as a finish on some of my pens. Usualy the metalics or pearls. Look in my photos for examples. Polish is a very time consuming process and very hard to get perfect !! First you need a very smooth base to build on. Second you need to know that it is very soft. You can not try to sand, buff, or turn it with tools !! It will soften with any type of heat and come off. That being said, this is the method I use. I turn a scrap blank a little under size. Seal the blank with CA and sand the blank smooth. Next apply a base coat. White or silver for metalics. Start from one end of the blank and go all the way to the other end. Sand smooth. Apply as many coats of polish as it takes to cover the base coat with the color you want. Work slowly in thin coats in one direction only. Let dry between coats, and overnite when satisfied with color. Apply a coat of nail polish hardner, let dry. If you have any runs or ridges now is the time to LIGHTLY sand, but try not to heat up the finish. Now you can apply a CA finish to build up to your finished size. Sand by hand from side to side with no power on your lathe. You can use MM with power after that, or just buff with a auto or resin polish. Watch the heat build up!!! When I use a metal flake, I leave just enough texture that you can feel it. You can usualy go to a discount store and buy nail polish and hardned for $1 a bottle to try this method. Jim S

 

[MesquiteMan]

Fingernail polish is lacquer that has been modified to make it more flexible for the nail. You might be better off using automotive touch-up paint since it will be more rigid and be able to be sanded.

 

[plantman]

Fingernail polish is lacquer that has been modified to make it more flexible for the nail. You might be better off using automotive touch-up paint since it will be more rigid and be able to be sanded.

Curtis; You are exactly correct !! Thats why you need to cover the polish with fingernail polish hardner, then CA, or the polish stays soft. After that it can be sanded, but you have to watch the heat build up. It's a real pain in the butt to work with, but they do make some different looking pens when the flaked and pearls are used!! I have used Auto touch-up paint to match pens to cars that I have. It works quite well, (You can see photos I have here that match one of my cars and othes using fingernail polish ), but you must do the four step system when using touch-up paint. Seal the wood, use a color matched auto primer, paint, then clear coat over the paint. Where I buy my paint, they send instructions as to how many coats of primer, paint, and clear that the factory used, so your color matches perfectly. That's the way the factory does it. I will usualy use a scrap piece of wood for the blank. Jim S

Note!! If you want to match your car color, get the paint code off the door jam or from under the hood. There are about 25 different shades of black alone !!!