GuitarPlayerNails

The purpose of these instructions is to be thorough. Although they may

seem a bit lengthy, it’s a fast and relatively simple process. We wanted to

cover as much detail as possible. You are customizing each nail you apply.

There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it down, you can have

great sounding, durable nails anytime you want, in less than 10 minutes.

Here are step by step instructions
of how to apply Instant Nails.

Also be sure to check out the real time video at the bottom of this page.

(1) (a) (b)

Instant Nails have a (a) lightly textured side, and a (b) non textured side.

You want to apply the Instant Nail with the textured side down.

That's the side that will be glued to your nail plate.

(2) (a) (b)

The first step is to cut yourself a piece of the Instant Nail material a bit
longer than needed, and a bit wider than your nail. Since Instant nails
are applied to only half your nail, the length will be determined by measuring
from approximately the middle of your nail plate.

(3) (a) (b)

(a) Measure the Instant Nail against your nail. Be sure to bend the Instant Nail a bit to the contour of your nail while doing so. (b) Cut off any excess material a little bit at a time until it's the same width as your nail. If you cut

off a bit too much, that's fine. Just make sure the short side is on the right

side of your nail plate. (Right handed guitarists).

(4) (a) (b)

Next you want to put a curve in the Instant Nail that will match the contour

of your nail. To do this, press the textured side of the Instant Nail against
the manicure stick, and then roll it back and forth to create the curve.
Get the curve to match the shape of your natural nail as close as possible.

Don't overdo the curve. At this point, just curve it enough to match the middle of your nail plate without any gaps.

(5) (a) (b)

Next you can use some nail clippers to lightly hold the Instant Nail, then slightly bend down the sides to match the contour of your nail plate.

Just a slight adjustment is needed. Don't over bend.

(b) Do any final adjusting with your fingers to match the shape of your nail

as close as possible. (As a note here, if you can't find any good fingernail clippers, toenail clippers are usually stronger and work well).

(6) (a) (b)

(a) Next, you'll want to get some glue into the pipette. To do this,
dispense a good size drop of thin super glue on a non-porous surface,
(b) then squeeze the pipette to siphon in the glue.

You can also cut the tip of the glue bottle just a bit bigger than the pipette,
insert the pipette, then carefully tip the glue bottle a bit and siphon in the
glue. Make sure you squeeze the pipette before inserting it into the bottle.

(7) (a) (b)

(a) Next, dry fit the Instant Nail. You're going to apply it to the front
half of your nail plate only. You want to apply the nail so that it follows

the natural plane of your fingernail, in contact with as much surface area as possible while leaving no, or very little gap at the front tip of the nail.

The angle of application is very important and everyone's nails are a bit different. Rule of thumb is to apply the Instant Nail so that it's as straight

as possible with no upward or downward angle. This affects tone and feel and can be slightly adjusted as you gain experience.

(b) Next, add a thin layer of super glue to the front half of the nail.

You can use the pipette to evenly spread the glue.

(8) (a) (b)

(a) Lightly apply the Instant Nail covering about 1/2 of your nail plate. Make sure that it's following the contour of your natural nail, covering as much surface area of

the nail plate as possible. Hold for several seconds. (b) Then hold the sides of the

nail down. If you used too much glue and the Instant Nail is adhering to your finger tip, separate immediately, then go back to holding down the nail. If you do glue

a bit of your finger tip to the nail, quickly and carefully peel it off. If it's already set, you can use soap and warm water or acetone if needed. After application, check

the back and corners. If any part of the nail was missed and needs to be glued down, do so now. Add glue, and hold down area for several seconds. Applying nail glue dryer while holding down the nail will speed up this step quite a bit.

(9) (a) (b)

(a) At this point you can do a rough trim of the nail tip. You still want to leave it a bit long for shaping and filing that you'll be doing a bit later

(b) Then do a rough trim if any excess material is up off the back of the nail.

(10) (a) (b)

(a) Then add a small amount of thin super glue behind the seam line, it will fill
in where it's needed. Go easy, don't use too much. You'll be able to see the glue as it is applied. Stop when the glue has filled in behind the nail. (b) Then you can spray some mild nail glue dryer to quickly seal and dry the glue. (Or you can let it dry on its own). When applying nail glue dryer, hold the nail level. Always make sure to keep the seam where the Instant nail meets the natural nail sealed so that water or other foreign substances can’t get in under the nail.

(11) (a) (b)

Next, you're going to taper the Instant Nail into your natural nail plate.
(a) A course or medium grit, emery board type file works well to start
with. Then you can finish with lighter grits. (Our 4 way file works well for this). (b) However, the fastest and best results will be obtained using an
automatic rotary nail file with a good bit. A flat barrel Swiss carbide bit
work great for tapering. Swiss Carbide bits generate the least amount of heat, and cut smoother than any other bit. They're great for use with any artificial nail or coating.

(12) (a) (b)

(a) With a rotary file you can monitor your filing as you're doing so.

You can precisely taper the entire nail in a minute or two. If you don't have a
rotary file, use a 4 way file starting with the coarse grit, and end with the finer grits.
It takes longer with a manual file, but with a little patience you can do a good job.

Then you can use some 1500 grit sandpaper to finish. (b) End result is a perfectly smooth, tapered nail, with no natural nail removed.

(13) (a) (b)

(a) At this point, you can file and shape the Instant Nail to your preference,

then taper underneath if needed, (see17a) and you're done. Or (b) you can add some fiberglass wrap. This can increase strength. You can either use nail resin or super glue with the wrap. A matter of preference really. Remember whenever you use any nail glue or resin, there is a bit of a trade off between strength and brittleness. Our nails are very strong by themselves. It's recommended you try them without any wrap at first.

(14) (a) (b)

(a) When using wrap, leave the Instant Nail a little long, then cut yourself a

piece just a bit longer and wider than the Instant nail. Our wrap is self adhering.

Simply peel off, then adhere it to the top of the Instant Nail. (b) Next trim the fiberglass wrap all around so that it's the same shape as the nail. You don't have

to be perfect, get as close as you can. We carry fiberglass instead of silk or linen wrap because it's stronger, and seems to result in a better overall tone. When using glue or nail resin, use a thin coat. That will add strength with minimal brittleness.

(15) (a) (b)

(a) Next, apply some super glue to the fiberglass wrap. (b) Have some Kleenex handy to lightly blot excess glue if needed. Blot quickly to remove excess glue and avoid sticking the Kleenex to the nail. It's better to add a thin layer of glue to the wrap (apply glue and blot the excess), rather than
to apply it too thick.

(16) (a) (b)

(a) Next, you can spray a little mild nail glue dryer, or let it dry on its own.
Next smooth and finish the top of the nail with a fine rotary nail bit or file, and/or some 1500 grit sandpaper. (b) After this, you can taper the nail from underneath. You may or may not need this step. Test nail on a string first. You can use the end of an emery board type file, or use a rotary file with an "under the nail" bit. There are different styles of under the nail bits to choose from. Swiss carbide bits seem to work the best. They're also good for removing any glue that can get under the nail.

(17) (a) (b)

(a) If your natural nail was very short, you can do this step later, after the
nail grows out a bit. When tapering underneath the nail, the idea is to taper
it smoothly into the Instant Nail above it. The result will be a smooth nail
that will give you a very pure sound. A little filing goes a long way. Try out your nail on a guitar string to test. (b) Then you can also use the end of
a fine grit file and some 1500 grit sandpaper folded a couple of times with
a curve, to finish underneath the nail..

(18) (a) (b)

(a) The end result is a durable, great sounding nail that feels like your own. It's also a nail you don't have to worry about. If something happens to it, you can remove it and apply another one in a few minutes. Always file the Instant Nail off to remove it. Never peel or try to soak it off with chemicals. Filing it off only takes a minute or two. Because of our methods of application, and because you're only applying the Instant Nail to the front half of the nail plate, if you follow our instructions they're very safe to use on a regular basis. (b) The same finished nail with a little commercial nail polish applied.

Click here to see an Instant Nail applied in real
time from start to finish. It follows the above steps.

If you have any questions, or if any problems arise, don't hesitate to contact us!
We have lots of experience with any situations that might occur. If you don't achieve the exact
tone and performance that you want from our nails, give us a call or e-mail us. We'll make sure you do.

916-687-0924

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