Thumb nail

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Thumb nail

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Stu

Posts: 2879
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

Thumb nail

hello,

its been years since i posted any questions or got involved in any posts on nails.

But my thumb nail keeps getting split!

its strong. and flexible. i like it but the work i do often means it splits and then i spend the following weeks supergluing and filing and re-supergluing and filing etc. until finally i just say **** it. and cut the thing back to zero (ish) and start over.

Anyone have any tips for protecting thumb nails... or rebuilding once theyre broken?

or generally tips for a better thumb nail.

I see plenty players with some kind of shiny laquer thing there

Stu

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 16:12:13

Blondie#2

Posts: 530
Joined: Sep. 14 2010

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Stu)

Standard nail repair is self adhesive silk/fibreglass wraps plus super glue/nail glue.

Savarez sell it in a kit along with files etc, but its much cheaper to get nail glue from Superdrug:
http://www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Finishing-Touches-Brush-On-Nail-Glue/p/279066#.Vb-qwfNViko

...plus some silk wraps:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-yard-of-Fiberglass-Silk-Strip-for-Nail-Wrap-Nails-extension-tips-manicure-/121713964085?hash=item1c56b7b435.

Cut wrap to cover your broken nail plus overlap the edge a bit, peel off backing and stick to nail. Apply coat of glue, let dry completely , apply another coat.

Once its all dry (the overlapping bit will be solid) clip off the end and file/buff edge.

Voila, repaired nail.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 18:00:35

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Stu)

Is that why you have no thumbnail in your picture? Sorry, it's rough. I recently broke off my whole thumbnail from one ill-advised toss of a bowling ball.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 18:29:19

Stu

Posts: 2879
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

Oh yeah!! Jeez.I remember that now.That was Gerardos course in sanlucar. Lost my nail the day before i flew out!! Haha. It's always at the times I need I it most.

I've actually just such some super glue and ripped up pieces of kitchen towel on it. And it feels good

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 19:21:56

Stu

Posts: 2879
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Blondie#2)

Thanks for those links. I might well purchase some of that.

ps Miguel. I've done that bowling ball one too. And immediately felt really stupid for not even considering that might happen. Frivolousy bowling away.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 19:24:05

crooksj5

Posts: 106
Joined: Jan. 7 2014

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Stu)

Silk wraps, acrylic nails, and even the fake nails from Walgreens (but these tend to destroy your actual nail.)

The best solution without doing anything drastic is keep your thumb nail just long enough to play most of the time to avoid accidents then when an important playing situation comes up and you really need extra length you can use one of the things mentioned above

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2015 19:50:04

julianev

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 13 2015

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Stu)

Hi there,

FWIW I had a similar problem with frequently splitting nails, and after an extensive trawl of guitarist forums earlier this year I've been using the following:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecrinal-Vitamin-Nail-Strengthener-10ml/dp/B003ODZPP0
and
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mane-Tail-Hoofmaker-Hand-Therapy/dp/B000GCR668

They are definitely recommended - I've had a marked reduction in breakages since then. Also if you are looking at other hardeners then apparently you should avoid anything with formaldehyde (a quite common ingredient) due to health issues with long term exposure.

good luck!

Julian

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 4 2015 16:34:09

Stu

Posts: 2879
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to julianev)

Thanks Julian, I may well purchase something like that.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2015 10:39:36

machopicasso

Posts: 997
Joined: Nov. 27 2010

RE: Thumb nail (in reply to Stu)

quote:

Anyone have any tips for protecting thumb nails... or rebuilding once theyre broken?

or generally tips for a better thumb nail.

I kept tearing my thumb nail whenever I practiced a lot of alzapua. Once it grew back, I followed Ricardo's advice and just started applying Krazy Glue (cyanoacrylate) on a daily basis, usually about 10 minutes before I practice. I haven't broken my thumb nail since.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 8 2015 10:05:12