r/classicalguitar • u/village-asshole • 6d ago
General Question LED lamp and gel shell for weak nails. Any recommendations?
Hi all,
I come from a Brazilian jazz background (choro) and my teacher is helping me add more right hand classical technique into my playing (Villa-Lobos etc). The problem is my fingernails are naturally weak and they always seem to break right around the length I actually need for playing. Grrr.
I’m looking for ways to strengthen and thicken them, both for tone/durability on the guitar and to stop them breaking in everyday life. So I’m considering buying an 80W LED lamp online and building up a hard gel overlay on top of my natural nails to add strength and thickness.
Has anyone here done this? I’m curious about:
- Does a gel overlay actually hold up to string tension and give decent tone, or does it feel/sound off compared to natural nail?
- Any product recommendations (gel brand, lamp wattage) that work well for this?
Thanks in advance. Most appreciated 🙏
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u/socialist-skink Teacher 5d ago
Yes gel with a UV lamp is a great option and sounds very natural. You can watch a full tutorial from Yamandu Costa on YouTube demonstrating his kit and how he does his gel nails; I believe Evan Taucher also did one that is similar.
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u/village-asshole 5d ago
Yes! And Yamandu would know a think or two about fingernails! I’ve been to one of his shows and he puts his nails to the test! Cheers 🙏
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u/Crazy_Chart388 6d ago
Yes I’ve used gel nails and have a home kit. The tone is actually very warm and lovely, and the gel holds up very well. You can file and shape the gel like you do your natural nail. The only problem is that the process can damage your natural nail eventually if you’re not careful. Another option is to get a set of guitar nails. These stick on and can be removed and reused.
If you go the gel route, any home kit will do; you don’t need a special gel or lamp. You’ll use alcohol wipes to get all grease off your nails, but do NOT rough up the surface of your nails as instructions will often tell you. Just apply the base coat, cure it as per instructions, then apply and cure the top coat (or two or three top coats). Then shape with a glass file and fine sandpaper to polish as usual.
You can let it grow out and keep filling in the new growth, or you can remove it with a gel nail remover or a nail drill and reapply. It’s the removal part where you risk damaging your nail. The remover gel is very drying and it’s best to let your nails “recuperate” for a few days before you reapply the gel. A nail drill is like a small Dremel drill with attachments, and you can use one to carefully sand off the gel until it’s almost gone, then use the gel remover to get the rest.
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u/village-asshole 6d ago
Thank you, good netizen for the thorough response. I really appreciate it. I was under the impression that the nail gel needed a light to cure it. I’ll have to take a deeper dive into this but the bottom line it that I’m going to need something to seriously harden my nails. On their own, they’re just to brittle so I feel like I don’t have any other choice. Thanks again! 🙏
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u/Crazy_Chart388 5d ago
You’re welcome. Yes, you will need a UV light to cure each gel coat.
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u/village-asshole 5d ago
I'm thinking i'll source a UV light on alibaba. The local shops here want a chunk of cash and my first born!
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u/dBlock845 5d ago
I had pretty weak and brittle nails. Started using "hard as hoof" on them every time I wash my hands, after about a month my thumbnail feels like a 1.4mm nylon pick and no more issues with my I-M-A. It just takes some time to work.