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      The basics of these instructions apply to all of our nails. Even though we put a lot of information
in our instructions here, (we wanted to cover as much detail as possible), it's actually a fast and simple process. Once you gain a bit of experience, you'll be able to remove an old nail and put on a new one in about 5 or 6 minutes, our pre-formed nails in about 3 or 4.

      If you're new to using our nails, you should start with our regular pre-formed nails for your fingers and our wide pre-formed nail for the thumb.

     These instructions show the application of our Instant Nail in detail, but these techniques are used with our other nails as well. With our pre-formed nails, you can skip steps 1 thru 5.    

A video of our application process below is here:  http://youtu.be/crA-2Mopp60

Please watch this video after reading our instructions.

Here are step by step instructions
of how to apply GuitarPlayerNails.

(1)               (a)                                        (b)

Currently we carry a few different types of nail material. Some should

be applied with a specified side down. Others may be applied either side.

Instructions come with each of our nails.

  (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).

Next you want to put a curve in the Instant Nail that will match the curve of your natural nail. To do this, press the Instant Nail against the manicure stick, and then while squeezing the nail against the stick, roll it back and forth from side to side to create the curve. Get the curve to match the shape of your natural nail as close as possible.

(5)                   (a)                                               (b)

(a) Next you can use some needle nose pliers or nail clippers to lightly hold

the Instant Nail, then bend down the end of the Instant Nail to match the curve of the sides of your natural nail if needed. (b) Do any final adjusting

with your fingers to match the curve of your nail as close as possible. As a note here, we recommend using  toenail clippers over fingernail clippers, as they are usually stronger and work better.

(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, and 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. This applies to all our nails. 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. You can apply the nail straight, or with a slight downward angle. The angle that you apply the nail has an effect on what kind of tone and feel you will get. How short your natural nail is will usually determine if a slight angle is needed. Generally the
shorter the natural nail, the more of a downward angle will be necessary

to achieve a level nail. Experiment a bit to find what's right for you. Once you get the right angle, you can further customize your tone by how you file the nail. (Please see our "Tips and suggestions page"). Always use our pre-formed nails to begin with until you feel good about application, as they

are our easiest nail to work with. (b) Next, apply a small drop of glue at
the front-center of your natural nail plate, then spread the glue out approx. 3/4 of the way to the sides of the nail. Next apply the GuitarPlayerNail.
(see step 8). Hold down and apply pressure for approx 10 seconds to the front, middle part of the nail. Then hold down the sides. (8b). Next, apply

a small amount of glue to the top sides of the nail and let it "wick" in to the areas you missed, as in (9)a. You can do so while lightly holding the nail down, or apply the glue first, then hold down the nail. Fill in any missing area as needed. With our pre-formed nails, you can use our brush on nail glue for application as it works well, and the thicker viscosity makes it a bit easier to work with. Always use thin glue for our nail strips.

(8)               (a)                                                           (b)

(a) ( A bit more on application).  Hold the Instant Nail at the tip,  then apply pressure. You'll be able to see what's occurring under the nail. Apply pressure to the middle front of the nail first for 10 seconds or so, then when that has set, (b) glue down the sides. You can apply the glue while lightly holding the side of the nail down, or apply the glue first, then hold down the nail. You can do one side at a time, hold it down and let the glue set. Or apply glue to both sides and then hold down both at once as in step (b). If you apply too much glue, it can wick under the nail on the sides and get on your skin beneath the nail. Keep an eye out for this, if it occurs, you can use a manicure stick or your finger on your free hand to wipe it away. Do so as soon as you can, as you can glue the top edge of your finger pad to your nail. If that occurs, just separate as soon as possible. Also, when first holding down the nail, you can hold and let go a couple of times at first to make sure you're not gluing your fingers or thumb to the nail. Twist your finger or thumb a bit at first before you lift. You can also  use your thumb and index finger of the left hand to hold down the sides. (right handed guitarists). If you do glue your finger, twist first then pull off. If  it's already set and difficult to remove, you can use soap and warm water, or nail polish remover with acetone if needed. 

(9)                 (a)                                       (b)

(a) Next add a small amount of thin super glue and "back fill" behind the seam line, it will fill in where it's needed and then seal the nail. You'll be able to see the glue as it's applied. Stop when the glue has filled in behind the
nail. If the nail is up off your nail plate a bit at the back, you don't have to
fill in the area that you'll be clipping off (see 10 b). Just fill in where needed. (b) Then you can use some mild nail glue dryer to quickly seal and dry the glue. This is a highly recommended step, as the nail glue dryer will instantly seal the nail at the seam and hold it in place. If you're not using any nail glue dryer at this point, wait about 4 or 5 minutes before
going on to the next step. Pre-formed nails need only about a minute. If
you do use the dryer you can proceed right away.  If any other part of
the nail was missed, you can glue it down now.

(10)               (a)                                            (b)

(a) At this point you can do a rough trim of the nail tip. You want to leave it a
bit long for shaping and filing that you'll be doing a bit later. (b) Then trim any excess material that's up off the back of the nail. Get in behind the nail with some clippers, and remove as much of the nail that isn't glued down as you can.
Next, you can also back fill (as in step 9a) the front of the nail if there is any gap there. Cut the tip of a pipette at a bit of an angle, (like a syringe needle) then apply a small amount of glue under the nail at the point where the natural nail tip meets the GuitarPlayerNail underneath to seal any gap that may be present.

Make sure there's glue in the stem of the pipette, then apply a very small amount to seal the gap. If you do get any excess glue under the nail, you can clean it up in a few seconds with a rotary nail file with an under the nail bit.
 

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. (b) However, the fastest and
best results will be obtained using an automatic rotary nail file with a good bit. A flat barrel carbide bit works great for tapering and removing old
nails. If you're a serious player and use any type of artificial nail, or do nail repairs, we highly recommend getting a rotary nail file. If you have a

Dremel tool, many of them can be used as a rotary nail file as well.

 (a) With a rotary file you can monitor your filing as you're doing so. You can precisely taper the entire nail in about a minute. It will take longer with a manual file, but with a little patience you can do a good job. If tapering with an emery board type file, it's best to leave the border edge a bit higher than flush, then

add a little nail glue or a thicker nail glue or resin to finish the taper. When finished tapering, using the pipette, add a bit more thin glue along the border area you just tapered. This will further make sure the nail is sealed. Always make sure that the nail is sealed at the border where the Instant Nail meets the natural nail. Next, spray with a bit more nail glue dryer. Use some 1500 grit sandpaper to finish. (b) End result is a perfectly smooth, tapered nail.

(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 silk wrap to add a bit more strength, crispness, and rigidity
to the nail. This is a matter of personal preference whether to use wrap or not. It depends on which GuitarPlayerNail you're using, your individual playing style, and tone preferences. Definitely give it a try.

(14)             (a)                                                      (b)

(a) When using wrap, 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 nail. (b) Next trim the silk 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. You can leave excess wrap on before applying the glue and then trim off the excess with nail clippers after the glue has been applied.

REMOVING NAILS.  A very quick and accurate way to remove our nails is to file them off. It only takes a minute or two with
a rotary nail file, and you can remove our pre-formed nails in a matter of seconds. Emery board files also will work, but take longer and are not quite as accurate. Simply clip off the tip of the nail and then file the rest of it off. When filing off a nail, friction can build up, so keep the bit or file moving to different areas of the nail and limit the amount of time it's in contact with the nail. You can leave a thin layer of the old nail on if you wish. Take your time and use good lighting. Our pre-formed nails can be soaked off with acetone,  (nail polish remover), but it's much faster and easier to file them off too. You can lightly draw some lines with a pencil on your natural nail as a reference before application to help distinguish the border of the natural nail if you wish, but most people don't find that necessary. Since you've only applied the GuitarPlayerNail to 1/2 the nail plate, you can use the back half as basic reference as to how much nail to file off. Also, if  you watch carefully while you're filing, you'll be able to see where the GuitarPlayerNail ends and the natural nail begins. View from above and from the side of the nail. If you do file off some of the natural nail, you can always build it up a bit before applying a new nail with some brush on nail glue, silk wrap, or any viscous nail resin.

       Another technique that some of our customers use for removal of our nails is to carefully peel them off.  Using nail clippers, grab the front of the GuitarPlayerNail, and  then carefully peel back. You can trim the nail tip first before peeling, but leave a bit sticking out from your natural nail. Go slow and peel the nail off. Once you get a bit of the nail peeled back, you can grab it with your thumb and index finger of your free hand and carefully peel back, or continue to use the clippers. You may want to peel off  a few smaller sections at a time. Push the clippers under the nail a bit as you peel off the nail. Usually the bond between the glue and the natural nail is a bit stronger than the bond between the Instant Nail and the glue. So there likely will be a very thin layer of nail glue left on the natural nail. You can file that off with a rotary nail file or emery board. There also may be a few areas where there is some GuitarPlayerNail left. You can also file that off with a rotary file or emery board type file. There are conditions that can exist that make peeling off a nail difficult, and this technique does not work for our pre-formed nails. If you find yourself having any difficulty peeling off a nail, stop and file it off. You can peel some of the nail, and file the rest off. If you find yourself removing some of the natural nail while using this technique,  stop and file the rest of the nail off. If you do remove some natural nail, simply build up your nail again with some brush on nail glue, glue with silk wrap, or any viscous nail resin. When finished, remove any remaining Instant Nail and/or old glue that might be left with a rotary file or emery board file. Never let a nail fall off on its own. You should always keep the nail sealed at the seams at all times, and when you want it removed, follow the above steps.

Our nails are applied with the use of fingernail glue. If you have any allergies to this product, consult a physician before using. If you have any medical conditions or problems with your fingernails, consult a physician before use. If any irritation occurs while using this product, discontinue use and consult a physician.  

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.

209-295-4969

                                                                                                            

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