Raise your hand if you have a drawer full of nail polish with bottles that haven’t been opened in years. Here are some unusual uses for nail polish to put all those old bottles to use. You may be surprised to find that nail polish isn’t just for your fingers and toes!
1. Stop a Run – When I was a teen, my mom taught me this one. Use clear nail polish to stop a run in tights or a knit top. Dab it on the wrong side of the fabric to stop the run from growing. Use thin layers, as it will harden.
2. Thread Needles More Easily – One for the crafters and sewers (or anyone who needs to replace a button) – Drop a dot of polish on the end of a thread. Wait for it to dry and then thread your needle. The polish thickens the thread and makes it easier to push through the eye. (This also works well with fraying shoelaces.)
3. Secure a Screw – Have a screw that needs securing? Use clear nail polish over the threads of the screw to lock it into place. I like to use this especially on furniture nibs. We have some old pieces and no matter how much I tighten the screws, they are still loose. Dab on a little nail polish and they are good as new!
4. Prevent Rusting – Clear polish can be used to prevent rusting of exposed screws and nails. Apply a thin coat on the bolts or screws of outdoor furniture. You can use clear nail polish or use a color that matches the piece of furniture.
5. Avoid Rust Rings – Hate getting those rust rings from hairspray or shaving cream cans? Paint a ring of polish around the bottom. Allow the can to dry fully. The polish helps keep the bottoms from rusting.
6. Prevent Tarnishing – Clear polish can also keep your style. Put a thin coat on costume jewelry to prevent tarnishing. This works for belt buckles, too.
7. Mark Levels – Use colorful nail polish to mark levels in a bucket. Use a different color for each amount; e.g. pint, quart, gallon. I use this tip on measuring cups too. When the boys help me bake, we use the plastic measuring cup. The marks have been worn off with wear. I painted different colors to help the boys know wear to pour. Like the blue line is 1 cup and the red line id ½ cup.
8. Fill Scratches – Use clear nail polish to fill scratches on wood floors. Put a few drops over the scratches. Let dry and then buff gently with light sand paper to remove excess shine.
9. Seal Envelopes – You can avoid licking envelopes by sealing them with clear nail polish. You don’t have to paint the whole thing. Just a couple dabs will do. I like to use this trick with big envelopes that are going long distances. Then I don’t have to worry about them popping open.
10. Paint Your Remote – Make your TV remote visible even in the dark. Mark the buttons in different bright glow-in-the-dark colors to distinguish the volume from the channel buttons. Or, just color code them to help children understand how to use the remote. You know, for those Saturday mornings when you want to sleep in!
Now, I’m not condoning keeping the entire drawer of old nail polish but it might be prudent to keep a couple of those old bottles!
paint (color coat) your keys, and door locks (if you have more than one door in your entry way) i painted the dead bolt, and the matching key for the security screen, and then did the same for the actual door. as both keys were identical. LOL
Thanks for these great ideas! patsy
I use nail polish to mark house keys.
I love your ideas. will try them. Also I make my own jewelry and clear nail polish is great instead if glue.
Love all the ideas for nail polish! Thanks Shellie! Also, thanks for the Brown sugar vanilla scrub recipe, which my niece will be getting for her birthday. Smells delicious.
Ok, sorry, again to the nail polish. My Mother did something unique with her nail polish (maybe it`s more common than I thought, anybody else out there try this? Common, fess up! 🙂 My mother had a hard time for some reason backing her car out into the street, especially if there would be a car parked on the opposite side. She has bumped many cars of other family members in the process. Nothing usually happened to the cars she bumped. Well, this time she happened to “bump” my Father, her ex-husband’s truck while backing out. She took off a noticeable amount of red paint on the drivers side door. She actually attempted to cover it up with red nail polish. No joke! Was the red even close to the color on the truck? Nope! Did my Dad ever discover this: Nope. He sold the Bronco and apparently it`s still gone unnoticed to this day.
Love the tips you added new tricks to my already curious nature
I put a dot of nail polish on the back of spoons and utensils I take to potluck dinners to mark those that belong to me.
I have a hard time finding high top shoes for ankle support. I can find them, but with colors added for design. So I take black nail polish for black high tops and pain the other colors away! Has worked so far!
Warts. Warts are a virus that need oxygen to continue to plague your skin, so covering them regularly chokes them. Keeping a covering on long enough and the wart will either fall off or shrink to it’s death. I learned this trick from an old nurse from Maine. It really works.
I’m going to try some nail polish on a wart that keeps coming back on my index finger, even after I clip it out with nail clippers. I’ll let you know how the experiment is coming along.
i use clear/ colored nail polish for the ends of my shoe laces to stop them from fraying. i do the same to friendship bracelets.
Great ideas especially threading a needle
Use a variety of colors to mark spark plug wires and corresponding places they plug in.
That’s a great idea!!!
When I was a child, my mother would paint redbug bites with nail polish to get rid of them and stop the itching. it worked but this method is probably not recommended by the medical profession.
I used green nail polish to cover spots that was chipping from my metal front door
.cheaper then the actual paint n worked great.
A friend told me I could clear nail polish instead of “Nu Skin” (liquid band aid) for cuts, etc. Stings just like Nu Skin, but stops the injury pain immediately and heals it quickly also.
I like it better than NuSkin and I don’t think it burns as much. I use the clear color.
I have used nail polish in non-traditional colors for home handy-gal fixes. I updated my bakers rack with a shelf to replace the wine rack, as I never had enough to wine to really look good. The baker’s rack is gun metal gray. So I bought gun metal gray polish and ‘painted the new metal screws I used. It was almost a perfect match and much better than the shiny metal screws. And I think it helped them stay in place better. I screwed in the screws, all but the last 1/2 or 1/4 turn, painted then, the nailbrush got into the screw slots well, without a lot of excess and let them dry. Once they were dry, I screwed them in all the way.
I will decorate barrettes and Bobby pins with bright nail Polish colors. I mark my hair tools, I’m a hairdresser.
I put a dot of nail polish on my phone charger so I can tell what side is up to easily insert it into my phone.
I use nail polish to paint jar lids for homemade lotion and scrubs. Add a pretty sticker and this makes a wonderful small gift.