I Let A Robot Paint My Nails – Clockwork Nail Robot

Clockwork came out with a robot that can paint your nails in less than 10 minutes. The robot is supposed to save you time and money vs a standard manicure.

Clockwork machines can be found at certain Target locations and appointment have to be booked online. It The manicure will cost between $8-10. As a side note it’s simple painting of the nails and not any of the other things you would get in the salon.

When I booked my appointment, I wanted to verify two things:

1. How well the clockwork robot could paint my bare nails
2. If the clockwork robot would be able to pay acrylics/nail extension.They state that it can only work on natural nails but I wanted to see if it would work.

At the time of going, they had a limited selection of colors so I selected a pink color.

On my left hand, I added some clear acrylic nails and my right hand was bare.

Experience:

I booked my appointment online and drove to the Target. When I arrived at the Target location, a clockwork associate helped me set up. I selected my color and she started up the machine. It was a bit finicky at first since your finger has to be perfectly positioned and perfectly still. However, I quickly got the hang of it.

When doing the hand with acrylics, the machine had a bit of a difficult time but I expected this. I did finish around the 10 minute mark and after the machine was done, the associate sprayed the matte finishing spray on it and I was done.

I paid the same way I scheduled my appointment so that was an easy process.

Results:

My right hand got painted fine for the most part. It was a little spotty on some nails, but overall it was fine.

My left hand did not come out good. The robot painted the nail in the pattern of the glue instead of following the nail shape.

Additionally, the nail polish is not particularly heat resistant. If you take hot showers like I do or wash your hands with hot water, it compromises the integrity of the nail polish. The polish started peeling for me within two days and was completely gone by day 4.

Would I recommend:

I would recommend trying this out if you fall under the following criteria:

1. You want a quick manicure (10 minutes vs 30-60 minutes at a salon)
2. You don’t mind doing nail maintenance yourself (pushing down cuticles, trimming, filing, etc)
3. Willing to wash your hands with cooler water