Hi Dunc - your experiences pretty much mirror mine. The only difference being that my natural nails are covered with layers of 'wrap' material (some use silk, mine are fibreglass) and a gooey clear gel which forms the hard, WW3-standard coating. The result is absolutely bloody bomb-proof, and I'd never faff around with fingerpicks again.

I still use a thumb-pick though, as trying to use the thumbnail puts the thumb in the 'wrong' position, making the hand like a claw.

One more unseen benefit of getting your nails 'done' professionally is that a baldy beardy old git like me gets to have his hand legitimately held by a pretty young lady every 4 weeks! :-)

BTW Duncan - 'Bones' gets huge applause, thanks very much for lending me that one!