10 Unusual Uses for Nail Polish

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.

Comments

[valkgurl]

USe BLACK nailpolish to re-mark the fine lines on a metal ruler or other tools; seal with clear.

I recently tried a Sharpie to re-mark the lines on a measuring cup--plastic--and it was a fail. Def gonna try this!

Also--coat those pet tags! USe clear to cover the tags on your pets collar to avoid the color coming off and making them hard to read.

ie the jewelry factor--most of the "metal allergy" is actually a NICKLE sensitivity. IF you wear the pieces that are made of low quality metal--and we all do!!!---then coat them with either clear nail polish--or even colored!!!--or seal with spray on Krylon. You can also now get ear WIRES in plastic! Yep! Brilliant! You just have to remember to re-coat every so often. This is the same for jeans buttons and belt buckles or any other metal that touches skin. BTW--a high number of people who are sensitive to NICKLE or other metals (or rhodium--the stuff they use to cover and plate both SILVER and WHITE GOLD---) are often allergic to STINGING INSECTS. No one quite knows why but if you ask around you will find this to be a weird too-often-to-be-coincidence. No allergist has been able to 'splain this to us. Every time we meet some one who admits to being allergic to either stinging insects or metal-- we ask 'em if they have problems with the other substance. Astonishing how many do. Some bright Grad Student could do worse than look into this.

[slpr]

During world war 1 they (the British and possibly other nations) used superglue to treat soldiers wounds, I don't think clear nail polish in too indifferent. Nail polish is also brilliant for ladders in tights (pantyhose if you are american), simply apply at the top and bottom and a small hole won't turn into a giant one over the course of an evening :)

[WilmaSue]

super glue - I thought that was a relatively new glue

[Livy Apple]

in fact, if you use good scissors to cut the thread diagonally, it may work even better

[CoolCollineCutie]

Thank you because you posted this!!! <3... I am working with my Investigative project and oh! I found this! It is a big help! It is very informative! :D

[Mastros]

I suppose, readers are aware of yet another way of threading a needle. That is, by licking the thread a bit, and rolling it to become firm and thin.
-.

[jennybotha]

Also rub the end of the thread on a slightly moistened cake of soap-----my favorite way to thread a needle.

[Super_pride1146]

Another very easy way is to stick the eye of the needle into your mouth and get some saliva on it. Liquid works in a capillary action, meaning that it'll pull the thread through the eye. I use it every time.

[dawnflower14]

Baaaad idea. Nail polish=/= liquid bandage. Just go buy the real stuff!
Liquid bandage is safe to use on cuts and has antibiotics in them to avoid infections. If it gets in your blood stream, it will not harm you. If it did, the FDA would not have cleared it for sale as a bandage.

Nail polish has the chemicals toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and formaldehyde that are known to cause birth defects and respiratory problems among other harm. These chemicals have been outlawed due to their health hazards, but many companies still put them into their nail polish formulas, just in smaller doses. Not a good thing to be exposing to your blood stream.

[topseyturvey!]

Totally right. bad idea. it would be better just to put a real band aid on it, then using a "liquid ban aid"

[Mauigerbil]

Good on you for growing borage! You can also fix furniture/wall scrapes with nail polish, but it has to be the EXACT color or else it won't look good. I used this for an ironically created nail polish stain on my base boards,as they are pure white and so was a color of polish I had on hand.

And that is why I don't paint my nails on the floor....

[Yuer]

How well does it protect jewelry from tarnishing? Nail polish fades in a couple of days. So does the tarnish protection lasts only a couple days or for a while?

[luvchocolate4]

haha my friend painted her phone with sparkly nail polish. This could work on a simple phone case too!

[Blaise_Gauba]

Actually...I think clear band aid is manufactured from Soft Collidian, not the harsh chemicals similar in nail polish. Collidian is used in the Entertainment Industry by Special Effects make-up artists for creating scars. They are known to use Soft Collidian as well as Rigid Collidian. Rigid Collidian is usually painted over a lightly drawn area where the scar is supposed to be. Then using Rigid Collidian, the artist paints it along the length of the drawn scar (usually in some sort of pink or darker than flesh tone using eyebrow pens) then the make up-artist stretches the skin of the actor while the Collidian dries and after the gel has dried completely, they release the skin which causes the scar to indent into the surface of the skin. This really makes the fake scar look real. But, I DO like all of your ideas for the use of old fingernail polish. Very cool!

[catiehade]

FYI- Do NOT use it on an open wound, I tried it on a opened mosquito bite. It felt someone was was stabbing me. Just for future reference!

[myhairsfuncolors]

its a great glue in a pinch and an awesome sealer to waterproof paper beads

[ckoehler1904]

I always used clear nail polish dabbed over chiggers. It seemed to help.

[syara20]

does anybody else find this kind of disgusting????? Butting nailpolish on an open cut????

[uniquely_me_88]

Its not disgusting at all, I have done it many times. Now because of my work I use super glue instead because my fingers split... Never had a problem.

[blodefood]

There is a product you can get in the pharmacy that you paint on cuts, Liquid Skin, I think it is called. It is just a thinner version of nail polish that may have some medication in it. Bottom line is to seal the cut and it will heal faster.

[AnnaRay]

I am a hairdresser by trade and this little trick actually works. Because my hands are in water for a majority of the day, I find it difficult to keep bandages in place. If the cut is small/clean (like from hair-cutting shears or a razor) the polish seals the skin quite well!

[stretch mark]

Screw glue is a great one. I have a pair of favorite favorite sunglasses where the temples always unscrew. Nail polish! New lenses? Nail polish remover! Thanks.

[chicopluma]

GENIUS!!!

[lumpee]

People with metal allergies can wear jewelry if they paint the parts that touch the skin with clear nailpolish,things like rings,bracelets or watches.

[mattbrown777]

Nail polish also works great to kill ring worm. Just a light coat over the spot and it will clear up in no time.

[inkerbel]

Lots of comments, so sorry if I am repeating, but color coding is one of my favorite uses for nailpolish. Most recently I used it to color code the toothbrush heads for our electric toothbrush. Just a little bit near the end that goes in the handle, it works great.
(Oh and fyi, liquid bandage isn;t the same as clear nailpolish, it is basically superglue, which is an cyanoacryliate glue. Nailpolish is a laquer. They used liquid stiches on my (then) two year old in the ER when he split his forhead open, also basically super glue but stronger than the liquid bandage you can buy at the drugstore ;)

[mole1]

Nail polish is the best stuff for color coding paint brushes... blue for watercolor, yellow for acrylic, red for oils. Nothing else has worked as well for me.

[schlieffenska]

And to Mastros- that doesn't always work. Actually, it rarely works very well. And you have to cut the end of the thread off when it frays. Some of us just aren't that talented, I guess. :P

[schlieffenska]

Oh my gosh. I sew a ton, and I have never thought of this. How did I never think of this?! haha. Thanks so much for the post! Great tips.

[HarrisIndi]

I've heard clear nail polish can also stop a run in a stocking, though it's never seemed to work for me lol. Love the 'stop tins rusting in the bathroom' tip, I'll definitely use that one.

[icelandinthesun]

It is great to keep a ladder in your nylons from running. Just apply a tiny bit of non colored nail polish at the end of the ladder while wearing the stockings.

[pdarko]

some are awesome thou I knew a few
however great post

[blackbean]

I also use this trick when making beaded bracelets. It's easier to thread the beads when the end of the string is stiff and won't unravel. Then a little dab on the knot to tie off the bracelet so it won't come undone.

Great instructable, by the way :) I learned a couple new tricks.

[Phibius]

Hard time distinguishing between the shiny silver and the dull brass? Sorry, I had to. The picture made me.

[annammm]

Also place a 'thick' dot of red on the 'top' side of the charge plug to my cell phone and iPod. Makes it easier to plug in, in low light.

[annammm]

I've always used bright red to mark the switch to the garbage disposal.

[gallimaufry]

My optician recommended using nail varnish to seal the tiny screws on my kids' glasses as they kept working loose (because of the rought treatment they get). Better than glue as he can use acetone to remove it if they need adjusting.

[scoochmaroo]

Ooh, I also like to paint two little marks on my bathtub faucet so I can remember exactly how far to turn my taps for the perfect temperature bath every time!

[lukeyj15]

I've been wanting to do that for ages!

[Creaturiste]

Nail polish contains acetone, which is toxic as fumes, and on skin and in your bloodstream. It may contain whatever Gods know what else!

Why risk it?