Any nail tech who’s been in the business a while has probably found some unconventional use for her nail products. Whether it’s mending a broken teacup with acrylic or using polish to mark which key is which, nail products often come in handy outside the salon.

NAILS recently took to Facebook to ask techs what they’ve “MacGyvered” with their products. As you’ll see, nail techs are pretty ingenious.

Karen Evans: I was doing a friend’s bridal makeup on her wedding day. As she went to get ready, the diamanté clasp on her underwear broke! I repaired it with gel nail products.

Joanne Hurtubise McDonald: I repaired a kiddie pool with fiberglass meant for nails. I’ve refreshed jewelry with gel-polish. I even used acrylic to make a miniature ham radio for our wedding cake topper.

Heidi Placanico: I repaired my son’s Patriots garden gnome. I also fixed a chicken’s broken beak and some hatching eggs that cracked during shipping. They are incubating now and two out of three show normal development.

DeAnna Sanders: I repaired a waterbed in the early ’90s. I have also remade gemstones for clients’ shoes, repaired glasses, and attempted to fix a radiator. I even temporarily fixed my own tooth!

Dana Cecil: I repaired my daughter’s turtle necklace from the zoo. He got an acrylic leg to match the others and a gel-polish paint job.

Deborah Taylor: I repaired a lady’s sandals by replacing her missing gem with one of mine.

I also painted and cured stones for my nail bar sign.

Kate Bee-Land: I fixed the arm on my glasses today with the glue and top coat I use for my rhinestones.

Holley Dowell Delorme: Most recently, I repaired paint on a dirt bike helmet.

Hazel Clarke: I fixed my freezer drawer.

Tess Ewart: Cat toys, dishes, car parts — acrylic is a magic multiuse product!

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