Introduction: 10 Unusual Uses for Nail Polish

About: Former Instructables employee CHECK OUT MY WORK www.carleyjacobson.com

If you're anything like me you have bottles of nail polish building up in your desk drawer from years ago.  What you might not know is there are plenty of ways to put that nail polish to use besides just decorating your fingers.  Here are 10 new uses for nail polish that will help you with day to day tasks around the house!

Step 1: Smudge Proof Lables

Prevent ink from running on your labels.  Coat the labels that identify your garden plants, or the labels that distinguish your shampoo bottles with clear nail polish.

Step 2: Seal an Envelope

Ever see that episode of Seinfeld where George's fiance dies from licking too many wedding invitations?

Avoid licking that gross glue on the back of an envelope.  Just seal it with a little bit of clear nail polish

Step 3: Threading a Needle

It can be a pain in the butt trying to thread a needle!  I know I have had my moments where I've had to walk away from projects because it gets too frustrating.

A quick fix for this is dipping the end of your thread in a small amount of nail polish for easy thread-ability.

Step 4: Prevent Costume Jewelry From Tarnishing

Ever get those green rings on your fingers from wearing a costume ring?  Paint a thin coat of clear nail polish on your costume jewelry to prevent tarnishing.

Step 5: Keep Laces and Rope From Unraveling

You may have heard that burning the ends of cut rope prevent it from fraying.  Nail polish works just as well!  Just coat the ends of your shoe laces or rope with clear nail polish (or colored nail polish for some fun) to prevent any fraying.

Step 6: Tighten Loose Screws

For an extra hold, coat your screws in nail polish.  After setting the screws let the polish dry.  This should give you added durability.

Step 7: Color-Code Objects

Color code objects to easily distinguish them.  I color coded my keys with nail polish so I can quickly figure out which key is for my front door!

Step 8: Mark Levels in a Bucket

Mark levels on measuring cups or buckets.  For your cleaning bucket you can mark how much soap you need and another level for how much water you need.

Step 9: Rustproof Metal

Apply clear nail polish to metals that are vulnerable to rusting, i.e. in the bathroom or outdoors.

Some Ideas:
  • Shaving Cream - If you shaving cream can creates rust rings on your bath tub, apply a thin layer of nail polish to the bottom.
  • Screws - in patio furniture, or the toilet
  • Car Paint - keep chipped car paint from rusting by coating the damaged areas with nail polish.

Step 10: Liquid Bandaid

I heard this one from Scoochmaroo!  She uses clear nail polish as a liquid bandaid.  Apparently its the same thing...who knew!

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