Airbrush Nails – How to Get the Perfect Airbrush Nails

Nail art is a great way to make your nails stand out and look beautiful. While you can use traditional nail polish to make some unique nail arts, why not use more sophisticated techniques and make airbrush nails instead.

Similar to airbrushing plastic toys, t-shirts and other items, you can airbrush nails. To turn your nails into your own little canvas all you need are some stencils, your acetone, a base-coat, different colored nail polish, a top-coat and of course a simple airbrush machine setup which includes an airbrush gun attached to an air compressor.

Start here

The first step to getting airbrush nails is to have your designs in stencil. You can either make your own design and stencil it yourself or buy a custom made stencil from stores or nail salons. Choosing which design is simply a matter of preference.

Preparing your nails

After you have your stencil design, you have to prepare your nails so your airbrush nails last longer. Wash your hands and fingers, including nails of course, with soap and scrub the nails with a brush. Using nail polish remover or acetone, make sure to remove any remaining nail polish or oil left behind from your previous nails manicure. You also want to make sure your nails are perfectly clean from any other impurities such as dirt so keep a napkin or towel in hand just in case.

Base-coat, airbrushing and Top-coat

Using a brush apply the base-coat onto the nail, then for an even background and overall look, apply a white background or a color of your choice before adding the other colors. Once you’ve applied the background color, you can get your stencil ready by placing it on top of the finger then using your airbrush gun airbrush your nails one color at a time. After you are done with airbrushing your nails, remove the stencil and with the nail polish remover or acetone, clean the parts of your finger that have unwanted or stray color on it.

 Final step

One final step before you can enjoy your airbrush nails is to apply the top-coat. This top-coat must be carefully brushed onto the just airbrush nails using a very light stroke because the paint is still very fragile, and you might leave brush strokes behind if you are not delicate enough. Another reminder is to not repeatedly stroke the nail. An ideal application would be to have the whole nail coated with the top-coat in less than 3 strokes, then fan dry for a minute or two to finish.

Varnish optional

Another way to avoid the risk of ruining your airbrush nails by leaving brush strokes as you apply the top-coat is to apply varnish right after airbrushing your nails. This goes before the top-coat and is a water based clear coat that is sprayed in a mist over the airbrushed colored paint. This varnish creates a protective barrier between the paint and the top-coat, allowing for easier top-coat application.

And there you have it. Your very own beautiful airbrush nails. As with other arts, mastering airbrush nails takes some practice. So how about practicing on your friends and family or even make some money from airbrush nails.