wrap systems

[eager beaver]

could anyone please advise me of a good wrap system, either fibreglass or silk (which one is better?) i've heard that some of the cheaper ones still show the mesh through them? i am training at the moment, but would like to use a decent brand, my lecturer said get a good one, but didnt say which!
Any advice appreiciated. i have passed my acrylic assessments- yippee! just need to concentrate on wraps now.

 

[ladybgemini]

I have used Fabric# and NSI Soft touch wrap. Both are good and the fabric offers a thicker resin to enable you to create an apex whereas some of the other brands use one thickness of resin.

HTH
Rachel

 

[eager beaver]

thankyou for your advice, i looked at the fabric# and it does look good. the college also uses NSI, wanted to be sure this was a good one! thanks:hug:

 

[ticen rustem]

nsi silk wraps are brill ! once soaked with glue they disappear not like the fibreglass which leave a criss cross through the nail.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

So how would I know which wrap is suitable for my clients nails?
This will depend on the strength of your clients nails.
The weaker the underlying structure the more flexibility is essential, so this is the key to the choice to which material to use.

Would Linen be an ideal choice on weak, damaged nails?
No, fiberglass would be more suited, Fibreglass is the most flexible material, it will move with the weak understructure of a damaged or naturally weak nail.
Linen has high moisture absorbency and a tighter weave, the tighter the weave the more material will be in a square inch for example. So the more material, the more resin absorption and this means less flexibility then Fibreglass.

What about Silk?
Silk is ideal on nails that are not too weak and again provides an invisible but softer looking wrap. Silk just like Linen has a high moisture absorbency but is much sheerer than Linen. However, Silk is less flexible than Fibreglass but more flexible than Linen.
Nevertheless, not a good choice of material for an e-file damaged or very weak nail.

Therefore, my list of reasons on how to choose a material that would give my clients the best choice would be this:

Fibreglass:
For very weak and damaged nails, i.e. drill damage or severe ridges.
Fibreglass is very flexible and with great saturation Technique invisible.
Great for natural nail repairs

Silk:
Slightly thicker weave than Fibreglass, suitable for natural nails with moderate or no damage. Much softer looking; less light reflection. Great for natural nail repairs, re-building or reshaping a missing or broken corner.

Linen:
Great for natural nails, that have a sound structure but the client would like a little support.. Linen is the thickest of all the three mentioned materials. This material holds the most EC Resin, therefore giving the most rigid structure. Linen is a great choice if you need to add a tad of length to the odd nail.

Discuss what is available with your client and advise accordingly. The choice of material is made after a great client consultation.

What is also important is the choice of resins available to you, choose a system that offer you at least 2 different viscosities, thin for saturation and thicker for stress and shape building, combine this with the right choice of material and you have a pretty cool system to work with xxx

 

[JDs]

I didn't see it mentioned so might we add that Linen is a not clear nail wrap. It is white (opaque) and you have to wear polish as with Silk and Fiberglass you can go natural with them.

 

[ValencianNails]

nsi silk wraps are brill ! once soaked with glue they disappear not like the fibreglass which leave a criss cross through the nail.

If you can still see the fibreglass mesh after applying resin then you haven't used enough.
You need to saturate the mesh without flooding the sidewalls and zone 3, it can be tricky if you're new to using fibreglass systems, brush on resin is better (IMO) as it allows more control and less chance of flooding.
By the time you're at the stage of building your apex you shouldn't be able to see any mesh through the resin.

 

[geeg]

If you can still see the fibreglass mesh after applying resin then you haven't used enough.
You need to saturate the mesh without flooding the sidewalls and zone 3, it can be tricky if you're new to using fibreglass systems, brush on resin is better (IMO) as it allows more control and less chance of flooding.
By the time you're at the stage of building your apex you shouldn't be able to see any mesh through the resin.

I agree completely with Sandi here.

It is not the system that makes the fibre mesh disappear, it is the way you apply the resin. Fibre shouldn't show no matter what brand you use as long as you apply the resin correctly and in the right amount.

 

[eager beaver]

a big thankyou to all that has repiled- fab advice. i was told by a tutor that you could sometimes still see the mesh when using a cheaper brand, obviously not! i will try a brush on resin, and get both fibreglass and silk wraps. Thanks everyone:hug:

 

[claireamy]

Great advice from Ruth, Sandi and Geeg. I use Ezflow fibre and silk systems which has a brush on (thin) resin and a builder resin (thicker for building apex) and I think its a lovely system to use. hth xx