Materials
Nailheads are manufactured of either brass or steel. Brass nailheads are softer and lighter. The prongs are easier to bend and the brass material will not rust. Brass nailheads are recommended for attachment to fabrics that will be washed. Steel nailheads offer the advantage of better penetration through harder materials such as leather or plastic. They are not recommended for applications where the article will be washed.


Colors
Nailhead finishes can are created in a number of ways. Brass nailheads in silver finish are done by plating nickel over the base brass, followed by a laquer coat. Gold color brass nailheads actually have no plating, and are just the base brass material polished and lacquered. This is why different batches of gold color brass nailheads can have a different tones. The base brass material is made of naturally occuring elements that can have different hues. Nailheads can also be spray painted with hard enamels to make bright colors or pearlized effects.


Attaching
Nailheads are attached by penetrating a materialfolding with the prongs, and then folding the prongs over to secure it in place.For very light work this can be done manually with the help of a thimble, spoon, or screwdriver. For more serious work a rhinestone
or nailhead setter such as the GU50 can be employed.
Other setter options can be found in the Stone and Stud Setter Review

Sizing
Nailhead sizes can be a little confusing. They are most often quoted by a number which can range from #4 to #120. These numbers correspond more or less, to a size in millimeters. This numbering system works well for round and square nailheads but is awkward for nailheads that are neither round nor sqaure. For these situations we try to include the approximate physical dimensions of the item in millimeters. For those of you not accustomed to millimeters, you can reference this chart to get the approximate equivalent in inches, or consult a ruler with metric graduations on it.

More about sizing
We get a lot of questions about sizes and we'd like to help. A lot of people ask if they can tell the size of an item by looking at it on their computer monitor. The answer is a resounding NO! Monitor sizes and resolutuion vary, so there is no way that you can make an evaluation based on what you see on your computer screen.

BUT, it is possible to make a comparison if you have pictures containing an object that you may have in your pocket or purse. To that end we offer you the following photos which may help you to put the metric sizes in perspective.