I get more questions about how to waterproof paper quilled jewelry than any other types of questions. Which makes sense seeing as I blog most often about paper quilled jewelry and sealants, and I enjoy answering the questions that I can.
Today I want to answer a question that I get about once a week: “Can I use clear nail polish/varnish on my paper quilled jewelry?”
The short answer is….. YES There are people who use clear nail polish. It will give a hard, glossy, quite waterproof seal. Probably even more waterproof than many of the paper specific sealants that are out there and that I use.
BUT… I don’t use it on my own jewelry and I don’t ever plan on doing so. Here are my reasons:
- Nail polish has fumes. It is stinky. I don’t like working with products like these in my smallish craft room and with children around. I prefer non toxic water based sealants.
- It’s not formulated to be long lasting. You only wear nail varnish for a few days/weeks. There is the chance that over months/years it could get a yellow tint to it. This is true of some resins as well which I found out the hard way (I’ll save that for another post!). Besides getting yellow it could start getting too brittle over time.
- It is pricey. You can see on Amazon
- Messy. Maybe I still haven’t learned the best technique, but I always get some sealant on my fingers when I am sealing my jewelry. I don’t want to have to wear gloves while doing my work and you can’t just rinse off nail polish the way you can rinse off the water based sealants.
That’s enough reasons for me not to delve into using transparent nail varnish for my own jewelry. There are too many other options out there that I am happy with and too many reasons why I myself don’t like to use varnish. I don’t even use it on my own nails, preferring my daughter’s non toxic piggy paint
You can click HERE to check out all of the other posts I have about sealants. I have a lot more planned for the coming weeks/months as well.
Sometimes I talk about sealants in the individual posts about the jewelry I have made. You can view all of the jewelry posts HERE.
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View Comments (9)
Hi Honey Thanks a ton for the information.I had once used nail hardner for my quilled jewellery.Could you suggest Sealants which is easily available in India.
Hi Anita :) I know you can get mod podge and even crystal coat glaze and perfect paper adhesive in some online craft shops in India. Check some of the sources on this page in India: http://www.honeysquilling.com/paper-quilling-supply-sources/
Thanks for this info, Honey AND for the intro to Piggy Paint... I'd not heard of it before and am so glad to hear there's a non-toxic nail polish!
Thanks for the comment, Ann :) Yes, I was happy to find it as well!
Hi honey...i m new to quilling...i wud like to know abt sealants n how to make my quilling work waterproof..i use fevicol as glue but at times it becomes messy n untidy...can u pls help
Hi Monisha :) Thank you for your comment. I have some articles about sealants which you can see here: http://www.honeysquilling.com/sealants-for-paper-quilling/ I am experimenting with several sealants right now and will post tutorials and reviews over the next few months, so keep checking back as I provide more information about using sealants and glues for quilling!
i like this artical so much thanx once again
Hi honey! This is pathumai. I use fevicryl on my quilled earring but realise that it becomes sticky even after its dry. Any reason why?
Hi :) fevicol is a glue and therefore is not made specifically to be a topcoat or sealant. Many glues have a tendency to still be a little bit tacky or sticky even after they are dried. Sometimes even products that are meant to be a topcoat do this, which is why I test so many! I would try a different product if I were you :)