Here are some simple tips we can offer for a stamping beginner:

1. All plates come with a tight, protective blue film. This film ensures that your plate arrives unscratched or undamaged during the shipping process. The film needs to be removed before any stamping can begin.
2. Gently remove the stamper head from the holder and wash it with gentle dish soap, warm water, and your hand. This makes sure any oily residue or debris is removed from the surface. Pat dry with a paper towel and carefully insert the head back into the stamper holder.
3. The KEY to stamping is to work quickly. Make sure your creative workspace is prepped and ready with all tools cleaned and on hand before applying your stamping polish to your nail plate.
4. Do not work in a space with extreme lighting or with fans/air conditioners pointing directly at the plate. This will cause the polish to dry even quicker and will also hinder a good image pick-up.
5. Scrape 1-2 times at most to prevent the polish from drying on the nail plate.
6. On designs with more etched areas, use a lighter hand when scraping not to scrape out too much polish from the design.
7. Roll the stamper quickly but gently over the design for the perfect pickup! One of the biggest issues we see with partial pick up or no pick up is due to pressing too hard or too long on the stamper.  
8. When the design is transferred onto the nail, gently pat down any parts of the design that is lifting off from the nail to secure the design on the nail.
   
   Watch our easy-to-follow Do's and Don'ts guide

Yes. For best results, we recommend using 100% acetone as it will remove the polish and clean the plate without leaving any residue on the surface. We recommend using a cotton grabber tool, a nail art tweezer, or even clothes pin if you are in a pinch, to hold your cotton pad soaked with acetone to clean your plate so you don't accidentallly ruin your beautiful manicure while cleaning!

Maniology Pineapple Cotton Grabber

Stainless Steel Nail Art Pincher Tweezers Tool

Our nail stamping plates are made from high-quality stainless steel, which allows the engraved designs to stay crisp and durable over time. And yes—they’re completely reusable!

Simply clean the plate with 100% acetone between uses to keep the etched grooves free of leftover polish. With proper care, a stamping plate can last for years and deliver endless manicures.

Stamping polish is an air-dry polish formulated for stamping. The polish formula is thicker and has much more pigment, drying quickly. This allows the design to POP over your base polish when you stamp. They are not gel polish, and does not require a lamp to cure.

Our stamping polishes are also dual-purpose, so you can use it as a base color as well. Due to the difference in consistency in comparison to regular polishes, we recommend applying in 2 thin coats even though most of our polishes are opaque in 1 coat.  

Yes and no. The main difference between stamping polish and regular nail polish is that stamping polish is usually thicker and is packed with pigment. Some regular polishes will work for stamping, but the results will vary, depending on the opacity. Try with regular polishes that are opaque in 1 coat, and they should work. Avoid sheer, glitter, or any specialty finishes as they will not work well.

Tip: Older nail polish tends to thicken up over time, use your old nail polish for stamping.

If this is your first time using a clear stamper, it takes a slightly different technique than a regular solid rubber or silicone stamper. Please follow our checklist below to troubleshoot!

• Clean the stamper head gently with dish soap and water, dab dry with a paper towel. You can clean the stamper in between uses with scotch tape or a lint roller for easy cleanup.
• Use a quick light rolling action when picking up the design from the plate, just barely touching the plate. The MOST common issue we see is pressing too hard or too long. Use a light touch, just a flick of the wrist!  
• Make sure there are no fans or A/C creating a direct draft toward your workstation. It can dry out the polish quicker.
• Play around with pressures and rolling movements to find what works for you.
• Clean the plate with 100% acetone only after EVERY attempt. Other types of remover will not clean the plate properly leaving behind residue that will affect your results. So none of those "nourishing nail polish remover" stuff.

Here's a video on the Dos and Don'ts of using a clear stamper:

Absolutely! Nail stamping works beautifully over any completed manicure, whether you do gel, dip powder, or acrylic. After you stamp your design, allow a brief moment for the image to dry, then seal everything with our Smudge Free topcoat or your favorite gel top coat for extended wear.