Getting That Perfect Nail Finish

By Diane Kaye


Hello girls, thought I'd write a quick article on my latest in nail preparations. I've always been an experimenter, so nails are my latest challenge.

Want to get that really shiny look the stick-on's give you but with your real nails? Well like any good smooth finish, you have to have a smooth base. In this case the base is the nail itself.

Most of us have small ridges and grooves on the nail's surface. Before you can do the painting, you have to sand it smooth, and shape it. Now in my last nail article I talked about shapes and finishes . This time I want to tell you how to get a smooth surface finish.

Most emery boards are either too coarse or too fine. Buffing boards work well if the nail is nearly smooth, but it takes a lot of buffing to get there. Try a bit of wet and dry sand paper in a 600 to 800 grit.

Nail sanding Wrap it around a popsicle stick and firmly stroke it up and down the nail, not across from side to side. The round end will help you get into the cuticle area. Be careful not to sand it too thin. This way any scratches will be with the nail's grain.

You may need to apply a circular motion also. A little bit of water helps clear out the nail dust and minimizes scratching. Every so often, wipe the nail dry and check for smoothness under a lamp. By looking at the surface at different angles, you will see any irregularities. Once you are satisfied with the finish, use the buffing board to give it that final smooth finish. If you really want to go all out, get a polishing board and go for that glossy look. Also, if you don't like paying all that money for a small polishing stick, go to your nearest auto body supply house and buy a sheet of 3M WETORDRY 414Q paper in 2000 Micro Fine grit. Use your finger to sand the nail. The softness of your finger acts as a flexible backing pad to give a good polish. If you got the grooves and peaks out with the initial sanding, you should have a smooth finish.

Apply your primer first and let it dry. Follow it by the polish color and let it dry about 10 to 20 minutes. Apply a second coat if necessary to get the solid color look.

Nail tips If you want to experiment, paint the nails pink or clear, and take a bottle of French white and paint the tips white for that French look. I prefer to do it free handed with a steady stroke of the brush. One pass and let it dry thoroughly. Follow the nail's outline with a small bit of overlap. If necessary, apply a second coat, again with a single pass. Never go over the coat several times as you get blobs. The French nail kits do not seem to work well. If you place any sort of tape on the nail to act as a guide, you will get some seepage under the tape. If your hand is not steady then find a girl friend to help. After all what are sisters for? It really makes the nail experience fun. I recently tried the Maybelline Express colors for the tip color. They really do dry fast and hard. In about 2 minutes the first coat was dry to the touch, as long as it wasn't too thick.

When trimming your nails, never use a cutter of any type, as you run the risk of splitting the nail. Instead I use a coarse nail board, followed by a finer board to smooth the edges and underside. Stroke in a rounding manner to follow the shape of your finger end. If you prefer, file them flat and then round the corners. Well that's about it. Have fun, and don't spill any polish on your good dress!

Quick Nails

For those of you that hate to wait around for the polish to dry thoroughly, but want a nice look, I offer the following: Once you have gotten your nails to a smooth finish and have a shine on them from the polishing stick, just apply a single coating of base coat.

Base coat is a thinner liquid and dries very fast to a hard finish. Because it is so thin, it will show every flaw of the nail's surface, hence the perfectly smooth finish required. But since it is so thin, you don't get that cuticle smudge one finds from a slip of the brush. Your nails will have a mirror like finish that will be totally hard in minutes and will last. If you are like me, I carry my nail boards with me to work, and when I have a few minutes, keep them cleaned up and polished. A quick buff and polish every couple of days does the trick. If you really scratch them up then you will need to use some 600 grit paper to smooth them out first.


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