Airbrushing under Gel's

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Ailze

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Feb 20, 2004
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Can anybody help me with this one please, i have just started airbrushing and can't stop really, anything moves in my house it gets airbrushed.

My problem is i am playing about with trying to airbursh under Gel's for a lasting design. I use LCN 3 Sculpture gel and have been trying to airbrush just before the final sealant coat, but this seems to be chipping slightly on the edge of the nail.

Has anybody got any idea's on this one for me :!:
 
is there only me with this problem? or should i not be airbrushing designs under gels? any comments would be appreciated.
 
I was told that you can't seal an airbrush design with gel. If someone an tell me differentl I'd love to hear it.
 
I've just got an airbrush too....and even my husbands nails are painted!!:lol: (I did have to tie him to the chair!)

I was wondering about doing gel over the top...haven't tried yet. Does the paint actually chip or do you mean smudge?
Perhaps the paint adheres to the gel and so comes off if the nail catches on something. Sorry I'm not much help....there will be more answers by this evening I'm sure.
 
I have only tried it on one client and it is just on the very edge of the nail tip the sealant seem not to have stuck...... the rest of the nail looks fantastic just the very edges. I have tried applying more sealant to the edge of the nail but this does not seem to have worked. I was wondering whether i should trying airbrushing the design before the gel and then layering the gel and the sealant on top.

If anybody has some advise on this as it looks like i am not the only one......

Oh and my husband has his toes done too :lol:
 
Yes you can. Make sure you don't final finish the enhanced nails. (natural nails are different and need a complete prep and a adehsion promoter). Do not buff them. Leave a 180 grit or above surface. Little bit of texture to grip onto. Remove oils etc. Otherwise you will get balding spots when it cures. When you put the gel on ensure you drag it upto and slightly over the free edge. If not, gels shrink more than other systems when curing and will pull back from the free edge Still got problems? Warm up the gel in your hands and put one thin coat lock or cure. Place a second coat and fully cure.
Takes a little bit of playing, so enjoy and remember all gels sytems are not created equal....! :twisted:

Marco Benito
 
Thank you marco that is great, would you seal the design with the sealant gel once finished?

Sorry to be slow on the uptake here :lol:
 
I would only use the sealant/finishing gloss gels. Only. i.e the very thin gels used for final finishing. Do not use any builder gels at alll not needed! The idea is to lock in the design not shape the nail. So apply very thin layers. We do not want it to look like very thick topcoat.

Hope that helps.
 
That help loads, thank you. I will try that tonight.
 
I still seem to be having a problem, i only use LCN 3 step sculpture system and I have been adding the white airbrushing paint just before the 3rd layer which is the sealant after the gel…… I have not been using any base coat as I didn’t think I would need it, I have just been spraying the free edge and then adding the sealant on top, but when I wipe the nail at the end the sealant does not seem to be sticking to the edge…… Have you any advise on this one, should I be doing it differently? I have tried putting the sealant on the edge as well but doesn’t seem to be making much difference.

I am beginning to think i have wasted my time on the airbrush course as i do really want to use this with the gel system so it lasts...... any advice would be great on this.....



 
1. Are you removing the inhibition layer before you airbrush? (that sticky stuff. not with fingers...)
2. If it just french you are trying to acheive why are you not creating the crisp sharp smile lines with white sculpting gel? (does your system offer this? if not I know some that do)
3. Airbrushing is quick, simple fun and funky. you can increase income from nail services with simple airbrushing techniques very easily.
4 Don't blame the airbrush. Leave the gel bit at the moment and just have some fun spraying tips and create your own designs. You will love it.
5. Do you subscribe to any trade mags? they contain details of lots of courses and companies that could and is there business to help.
6. Always remember before giving up you need to somebody else to blame for your failings!!!!! I don't think you are there yet! or are that kind of person.
So get your kit out and have a laugh, nobody ever said learning was easy. But when you have conquered it, what a feeling.... Go on give the 'Flashdance song' a try
p.s we have all been there. The ones who want to improve that is..
 
AS a fellow LCn user, if I ever have a prob I phone their customer service line and they will give you tips and ideas, if what they advise doesn't work then keep asking and they will keep giving ideas until it works.
 
I had the same problem, i tried all kinds of things to try to get an airbrushed design that won't chip under gel. I've come to the conclusion that it just doesn't work, especially if the design covers a large area or is near the free edge. Even capping the fe with gel doesn't do any good because with regular use the gel over the airbrush paint will tend to bubble up and chip away. The same happens with hand painted acrylic designs. I gave up because it's more trouble than it's worth. Works great on acrylic nails though!
 
Winky - do you mean the airbrushing works great encased in the acrylic (or on top)?? If you mean under I will have to give this a try!!
 
I've never tried encasing it in the acrylic but if you airbrush over an acrylic nail that has been finished with a white buffer block, then apply an airbrush topcoat, your design will last 2-3 weeks. By then most clients will need an infill anyway.
 
Hi I've trained with Calgel and have not got into airbrushing but was told the following by our trainer which makes sense. Gel needs a 'rough' layer to stick to, ie either the sticky layer or a lightly roughened surface. Therefore when you airbrush, the design does not then have the 'rough' layer. So we were told to only airbrush a design in the middle of the nail and to leave the edges free of design so that the gel will seal properly.

I have tried a few elementary designs with nail art gel and because of the 'soft' effect that the gel gives, people have thought that the design was airbrushed!
 
we were told that gel won't go over airbrushing. but we were told u could use gel as a top coat on normal nail varnish. and i have read in a mag, the one u get free from wholesalers, hair and beauty i think, they had a profile of a salon in there and the owner was saying all naill art is free hand mostly because you can't put gel over airbrushing.


am i being really thick, surley it doesn't matter if its nail varnish, acrylic paint or airbrushed, shouldn't they all be the same? neither have a rough base for the gel, or a sticky residue.
 
What a great respones and loads of great ideas........ I think i might give up on using the airbrush with gel at the moment as my second client has just been intouch to say the gel has lifted.....

1 The first client i just did a nice white tip with a difference and sealed it over the gel. this chipped on the free edge.

My second client i did a fancy white under the gel and my client has just phoned to say that the gel is chipping off..... so very dissappointed.

So natural nails only at the moment i think.
 
Hi Ailze, fellow LCN geek here! How are you? Do you want to airbrush just to create French Manicures? If so the why not use LCN's FM white which you apply with a marbling tool. Takes a little while to master it but gives good results when you have, and doesn't chip. It goes on after you have buffed and before you apply your sealant.
Ailze said:
What a great respones and loads of great ideas........ I think i might give up on using the airbrush with gel at the moment as my second client has just been intouch to say the gel has lifted.....

1 The first client i just did a nice white tip with a difference and sealed it over the gel. this chipped on the free edge.

My second client i did a fancy white under the gel and my client has just phoned to say that the gel is chipping off..... so very dissappointed.

So natural nails only at the moment i think.
 
Hi sarah,

I already use the FM White which is lovely and clients love it, i was just trying to be a little more creative with my designs...... but it looks like we will be going back to the FM because at least i don't get any customes phoning me between appointments.

I am just testing at the moment so my clients understand. I have just started to use the airbrush on top of the gels now as a polish and see how long that lasts. But thank you all for your advice. Great site for when you have a problem.

But i think i might get intouch with LCN to see if they have any ideas.
 

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