"Has anybody tried using fingernail polish?" Topic

Walking with my dog the other day, I found a bottle of fingernail polish. Looking it over, it seemed to be black with little sparkles in it.
Has anybody tried using something like this on their figures? Does it adhere well to metal or plastic? Can you effectively dull the sheen by brushing on a flat sealer after the polish dries?
I'm not really thinking about using this for my Vikings or for my WWII Greeks, but it seems like it might be interesting to try for a wizard's cloak (assuming perhaps that he is a classy, upscale wizard, not somebody like Schmendrick) or a science fiction character's outfit.
I realize things have changed since I was a kid, and red isn't the only color available for polish, and it struck me that the fingernail polish display at the store might be worth visiting.

Grelber

After my unfortunate experiments with mascara, I decided not to try nail polish.

A bit more seriously, not a bad idea. From memory, the stuff is quite thick though & may cause loss of detail. You may or may not be able to thin it: turpentine?

I'll be interested in hearing how it turns out for you.

Thin with acetone, or … wait for it…. Nail Polish Remover!

You can buy craft paints that have similar effects and none of the toxic fumes.

Due to it containing acetone, it may not be good for applying to plastic but it would be OK for metals…

I used metallic red and metallic green nail polish to paint LDPE/HDPE plastic insect shells on toy figures. It was applied 15+ years ago -- looks the same today, as it did when applied: no peeling, no melting of the plastic, no negative effects at all. They are Giant Beetle monsters which I use for my AD&D RPG games.

I believe that the plastic bottles nail polish remover is sold in, is Polyethylene (LDPE or HDPE), so those plastic types are immune to acetone.

In short, yes, Grelber, you can paint some plastic figures with acetone-based nail polish. If using a plastic figure made of something other than LDPE/HDPE, you will need to experiment: try applying some nail polish to a sprue; or if possible, a small area of the figure's molded base, to see how it affects it. Note that soaking a bit of the plastic in acetone will be more severe than painting them with acetone-based nail polish. Cheers!

Looks like the Acetone attacking unprotected polystyrene has been address.

There is a company Goblin Hobbies that sells fingernail polish just for use on miniatures.
This is in the form of a stamp plate that allows one to transfer patterns from an etched plate to the miniature via a transparent rubber stamp.
link

I think this started as a nail care tool, but could be very useful for making many shields and such.