It has some insulating value. Nail polish is lacquer, which is not too different from the varnish on magnet wire. Build up the insulating layer with thin coats. Allow sufficient time between coats, for solvent evaporation.
Another use for the stuff is in consolidating old, crumbling, cloth wire covering. Yes, flexibility goes down, but the wire stays insulated.
Another use for the stuff is in consolidating old, crumbling, cloth wire covering. Yes, flexibility goes down, but the wire stays insulated.
For a little more money than nail polish, you can get corona dope from one of the usual suppliers. Admittedly there you don't have much choice in color, though... Glyptal is also useful, which is alkyd resin with some iron oxide filler added. That stuff is a sort of brick red like some primers (most likely because they have the iron oxide filler as well).
I've used it in situations where I needed to paint on something that would provide a little insulation. And, there were a couple of hundred volts involved. I didn't experience any troubles, but I wouldn't trust my life to it. Mine is red, which isn't a bad idea if you want to avoid touching it.
Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
Dunno Ty - every time the wife finds a speck of it on me in a colour she doesn't have, the sparks start flying....
I just did my nails...
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Nope, I've tried using Nitrocellulose lacquer in rocket motor igniters. It was a dead loss. Apparently there's different types / grades of nitrocellulose ...
Nope. I'm not kidding. I used nail polish to seal a repair to a midrange driver voice coil once. When I cranked up the volume to moderately loud the whole thing ignited. It was a polypropylene cone midrange, so I actually saw the flash from my seat across the darkened room, then the driver went dead. It was pretty cool looking, but it killed the driver.
From Wikipedia: "Most nail polishes are made of nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent (e.g. butyl acetate or ethyl acetate) and either left clear or colored with various pigments."
Nail polish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To be honest, that's silly. This is the kind of misinformation that needs to be smacked down on the spot.
Nail polish is inert once it has dried and it's solvent has evaporated, like any other solvent based finish.
To be honest, that's silly. This is the kind of misinformation that needs to be smacked down on the spot.
Nail polish is inert once it has dried and it's solvent has evaporated, like any other solvent based finish.
Just relating my personal experience, which is the truth. The dried clear nail polish ignited and burned on a midrange voice coil. Perhaps there was a short in the coil that caused a spark, I don't know, it was pretty burned up when I took it out. There was a residue of some windshield defroster repair compound on the coil (from someone else's previous repair attempt) -that contains finely divided copper in a binder which may have acted as a catalyst for the ignition.
It did ignite, though, that is a fact. If you choose to call me a liar, that is your prerogative, but I am not a liar.
From Wikipedia: The use of nitrocellulose film for motion pictures led to a widespread requirement for fireproof projection rooms with wall coverings made of asbestos. The US Navy shot a training film for projectionists that included footage of a controlled ignition of a reel of nitrate film, which continued to burn even when fully submerged in water. Unlike many other flammable materials, nitrocellulose does not need the oxygen in the air to keep burning and once it is burning, it is extremely difficult to put out. Immersing burning film in water may not extinguish the fire and it could actually increase the amount of smoke produced. Owing to public safety precautions, the London Underground forbade transport of movies on its system until well past the introduction of safety film.
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