Frequently asked questions
What are the numbers on the Chisel liquid bottles?
They are the steps of the dip system in order. Prep 1 Bonder goes on the bare, dehydrated plate. Base 2 goes under every powder layer and controls how much powder picks up. Step 3 is the activator, which is not stocked at ND at the moment, so a salon pairs the Chisel base and top with an activator from another dip line. Top 4 is the finish, laid in two thin coats over the filed and re-activated surface, with no lamp. The small bottles are 0.5 fl oz and the base and top also come as 2 oz refills.
Which bottle runs out first?
Base, by a wide margin. It is used under every layer of every nail, so a station doing dip all day goes through base at roughly twice the rate of top and many times the rate of bonder. That is the bottle to keep a 2 oz refill of in the cupboard. Refill a working bottle only while its brush is still soft; once a brush has cured product in it, fresh liquid contaminates the whole bottle and it should be replaced instead.
Why does a dip set lift at the cuticle?
Usually because of something that happened before the first dip. Base touching the skin has nothing to bond to and peels the edge back within days. Shine left on the plate gives the bonder nothing to grip. Oil, whether from hand cream, the client's own plate, or the tech's fingers, breaks the bond in the same way. Buff, dust, dehydrate in that order, keep every layer a hair short of the cuticle line, and do not touch the plate once the bonder is on.
Can these liquids be used with another brand of powder?
In practice yes, since a dip base holds whatever powder is dipped into it and an activator sets the base rather than the color. What changes between systems is how fast the base grabs and how thick a layer it pulls, so a tech switching brands should expect to adjust the timing for a set or two. Keep one activator across a whole nail rather than swapping mid-set, because two chemistries hardening at different speeds leave a visible step in the surface.
The Chisel dip liquids stocked at ND
Four bottles, and they are numbered so a tech can work the system without reading the labels twice. Prep 1 Bonder goes on the bare plate, Base 2 goes under every powder layer, and Top 4 goes on last. The small bottles are 0.5 fl oz (15 mL), the working size at a station, and the base and top are also listed as 2 oz refill bottles for a salon that runs dip daily. All four are marked professional use only. They are the liquid half of the Chisel 2-in-1 system, which means they are what turns a jar of Chisel acrylic and dipping powder into a dip set with no lamp and no monomer.
What each bottle does
| Bottle | Step | Job on the nail | Sizes listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep 1 Bonder | First, on bare nail | Dehydrates and gives the base something to grip, which is where lifting is won or lost | 0.5 fl oz |
| Base 2 | Under every powder layer | Holds the powder, controls how much picks up, and sets the thickness of each pass | 0.5 fl oz and 2 oz refill |
| Top 4 | Last, over the filed surface | Gives the shine and seals the free edge, no lamp | 0.5 fl oz and 2 oz refill |
Step 3 in the Chisel numbering is the activator, and it is not stocked at ND at the moment. A salon running the Chisel base and top pairs them with an activator from another dip line, which works because activators are not brand-locked in practice; what they do is set the base that is already on the nail. Keep the same activator across a set rather than swapping mid-nail, since two chemistries at different strengths harden at different speeds and leave a visible step.
The order the bottles are used in
- Prep the plate. Push back the cuticle, take the shine off, dust, and dehydrate.
- Bonder. A thin pass of Prep 1 Bonder on the bare nail only, not on skin, and let it flash off.
- Base and dip. A thin coat of Base 2 over the whole nail, dip into the powder at an angle, tap, and brush the surface clean.
- Repeat. Base again, stopping a hair short of the cuticle, dip, tap, brush; a third pass for a pale or bright shade.
- Activate, shape, activate. Activator over the whole nail, a minute to harden, file the shape and buff the surface flat, then a second pass of activator to seal what the file opened.
- Top. Two thin coats of Top 4, the first laid fast, the second slower, capping the free edge each time.
Small bottle or refill
- The 0.5 oz bottles are what sits on the table. They have the brush, they are easy to cap between clients, and they are the format that gets replaced when the brush loads up with cured product.
- The 2 oz bottles are refills. They have no brush and are there to top up a working bottle, which is how a busy station avoids running dry mid-set.
- Base empties first. It is used on every layer of every nail, so a station that does dip all day goes through base at roughly twice the rate of top.
- Do not refill a bottle whose brush has gone stiff. Fresh liquid on a cured brush contaminates the lot; replace the bottle instead.
- Cap everything the moment it is not in use. Base and top thicken on contact with air, and a thick base is the most common cause of lumpy dip layers.
Where lifting actually starts
Almost every dip set that lifts within a week lifts because of what happened before the first dip. Product on the cuticle line is the usual culprit: base that touches skin has nothing to bond to and peels the edge back within days. Shine left on the plate is the second: the buffer has to break the surface or the bonder has nothing to grip. Oil is the third, from hand cream, from the client's own plate, or from a tech's fingers holding the nail. Dehydrate after buffing, not before, and do not touch the plate again once the bonder is on.
The bonder is the bottle to be generous with and the base is the bottle to be sparing with. Too much base floats the powder and leaves a thick, soft layer that chips at the free edge; a thin, even pass gives a crisp pick-up and a layer that files flat.
Removal and bottle care
- File through the top layer before soaking, since top coat is what blocks the acetone.
- Soak in acetone with a foil wrap for ten to fifteen minutes and push the softened product off with a wood stick rather than prying it.
- Wipe the neck of each bottle before capping, because dried product on the thread stops the cap seating and the liquid thickens.
- Store upright, away from the acetone shelf and out of direct sun.
- Keep a bottle for the station and a refill in the cupboard rather than carrying one bottle between two tables.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
The Chisel dip liquids ship at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock bottles ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day. The Chisel color powders these liquids are built for sit on the Chisel acrylic and dipping powder page, and most of that range is on clearance, sold until gone rather than reordered.