On steel strings I used to break or split my fingernails and found no repair remedy until I went to my dentist one day who saw my plight and gave me some Dental Acrylic Repair Plaster---a powder soluble in a solution that he also provided. I built myself a nail in a few minutes using the paste that the mixture produces before drying in less than ten minutes. The stuff worked like a charm after being appropriately shaped (mostly with emory boards). I could usually build a better playing nail than I could grow. The stuff adheres vigorously to the nail beneath and should be removedin 2-3 weeks to let the nail beneath breathe. I have never lost a nail. A more secure grip on flatpicks I discovered can be obtained by painting the grip area with fingernail polish and then immediately dipping the painted picks into a very fine sand of the sort that is found in the ashtrays at he bottom of elevators in the better hotels.

Peter Stanley (Alias, Bojangles)