Sourcing products for fake nails
Hi,
I found the lesson on fake nails from Giulia Ballare very interesting, and I would like to try the process shown there.
However, as far as I could see, in the workbook there aren't actually any links to help us find the specialized products mentioned. Can anyone help with this.
Thanks,
James
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For fake nails, Guitar Player Nails are an excellent source. Many guitarists I know use their pre-formed nails. I personally use the kind of glue-on nails you can get at a drugstore, because they're smaller and a bit easier to fit, and actually often of very high quality. (GPNs are easy to trim but they are a bit big for me.) What makes them good is that they are tapered toward the cuticle side, a bit thicker toward the tip, they sound great and file easily. Interestingly the best of the "drugstore" nails are *not* the so-called "acrylic" ones. The brand I get is called "Kiss".
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I agree with Celeste, and have been using the "Kiss" brand for several years; available here at Walmart pharmacy. Glue them on with CA (cyanoacrylate) glue but use a medium viscosity; the thinner stuff is like water and impossible to keep it exactly where you want it. Difficult to play arpeggios with fingers glued together! I always keep acetone, which is the solvent, on hand for mishaps.
Cheers
Ernest-
Ernest It's worth buying some of the pipettes that GPN sells. One drop of glue in a pipette gives you incredible control over where it goes. Takes a bit of experimentation but no more glued fingers!
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Visit https://guitarplayernails.com/. . Dave Kear has several videos on how to apply the nails, though you should plan to spend time experimenting and customizing.
I've been using GPN since 2008, having suffered the long process of hardening china silk paper before that. Celeste mentioned this also (and if it's the Celeste I think it she is, she knows my use of GPN).
I've never tried store bought nails. I'm not opposed to them, I just have something that works pretty consistently.
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Dave McLellan Yes, the same Celeste!
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While I don't use GPNs it's not for lack of quality but rather simply size of nail. I do apply KISS nails via the "GPN" method, or a variation thereof. GPN sells a brush-on glue and a "surgical" type cyanoacrylate glue, and tiny pipettes for precise application. I apply the KISS nail by applying a coat of the brush-on glue, set the nail in place and hold it for 30 seconds. Then I back-fill along the edges and cuticle with a drop of the cyanoacrylate glue in a pipette. A nail applied thus will last me two weeks easily. If I must remove -- I usually just let them fall off, by which time my natural nail has grown back -- I've been using a product from Static Nails. It's a non-acetone remover which is a lot kinder to the natural nail. Costs a lot but if you only do occasional fakes it's worth it: it's an oily remover that just needs to soak a bit and the fake comes off easily and wipes clean, leaving your nailbed in reasonable shape.
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Thanks for all the replies, very useful. In the tonebase video that I referenced above, Giulia Ballare shows two different approaches - the first is to form layers of four different substances to form the nail, and the second is basically to glue on a preformed nail. I would like to try both methods at some point.
