1 This helps break through the top coat to allow the remover to penetrate the layers of polish below. 2  Soak a cotton ball with the acetone remover and place it on one of the fingernails. 3  Wrap the finger with the cotton ball in foil, and squeeze it nice and tight so that the cotton ball stays in contact with the nail. Remove the foil from one finger. ( 2 You should be able to visibly see the polish coming loose from the edges of the nail.) Push the polish off of the nail using your orange stick or cuticle pusher. 3  Don’t use anything too sharp or you could remove the top layer of your nail. 4  Repeat this step for each nail.