Nail varnish
A pigmented lacquer that dries to a hard film. The solvent that removes it is the strongest one most households own, and it attacks plastics.
In detail
Nail varnish is a nitrocellulose or polymer lacquer carrying pigment, dissolved in a volatile solvent that flashes off and leaves a hard, adherent film. Once that film has formed, water and detergent do nothing to it at all, which is why every procedure for it is a solvent procedure. The carpet institute routes it to nail polish remover first, then a dry-cleaning solvent, then detergent, warm water and ammonia to deal with what remains. Two cautions come with that. The remover is acetone or a close relative, and the regulator's own fact sheet lists plastics among the things acetone dissolves — so on a laminate worktop, an acrylic bath, a varnished table, a painted surface or a spectacle lens, the remover does more damage than the spill. And the carpet trade adds a specific note about the amyl-acetate type of remover: it leaves residues that cause rapid resoiling and must be rinsed with dry solvent afterwards. The best outcome on a hard surface is usually to let the film cure fully and then lift it mechanically with a plastic edge, treating the solvent as the last resort rather than the first.
What works
Acetone is effective against Nail varnish Strongly supported
Why
- Nail varnish is explained by Solvents and polymers
- Nail varnish is explained by Solubility and polarity
Hacks and claims involving this
Sources for this page
Sources
Spot Solver: spot and spill removal procedures
The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That nail polish routes to nail polish remover, then solvent, then detergent, warm water and ammonia, and that the amyl-acetate type of remover leaves residues causing rapid resoiling which must be rinsed with dry solvent. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Sprint 5-10: fifteen entries, stain by stain. Sprint 30: enumerated at 296 from the publisher's own sitemap, 134 more read plus 'Unknown'. Sprint 38: 56 more, chosen against stains the catalogue lacked. 192 of 296 read. Supports the claim as stated.
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Acetone (RTK 0006)
New Jersey Department of Health, 2015 · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That acetone dissolves resins, plastics and varnishes and attacks plastics. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The 'Description and Use' paragraph and the 'Handling and Storage' reactivity list. Supports the claim as stated. Establishes acetone as a catalogue agent on a regulator's identity and reactivity rather than on general chemistry, and supplies the plastics warning that governs every domestic use of nail polish remover on a surface.
Last reviewed by a person on .