Such helpful answers, thank you SO much to everyone. Looks like I've been doing it all wrong. ;) I hadn't ever head about cleaning with polish remover BEFORE, that makes sense now. Can anyone recommend a product that works great as a base coat AND topcoat? Trying to save money, so it would be great to find 1 product that works well for both. Thanks again for the great help.

I'm a nail tech and here are my secrets...Apply lotion or cuticle oil to the cuticles first. This will make it easier to wipe away any mistakes. Then clean the nail plate with acetone nail polish remover. Apply OPI bond aid or alcohol if you don't have bond aid. Apply base coat I recommend OPI nail envy (this stuff grabs on and never lets go) or Creative's Sticky (has a "sticky" rubberized finish). Apply 2 coats of high quality nail polish. I prefer Essie polish to all other brands. China Glaze is good too. I do not recommend OPI for fingernails. It is great for toes and acrylic nails, but it doesn't hold up on natural nails. Make sure you swipe the brush over the free edge of the nail on each coat of polish to seal the polish. Finish with Seche Vite Top Coat. It's the best! very shiny, fast drying, and holds up well. The secret is, to apply a top coat every day to keep polish sealed in. Hope this has been helpful! happy polishing!

I have one word...Naitlques....seriously, the stuff rocks....it's a base, a strengthener and a topcoat in one (it should be too because it is $20 bucks)...I can't believe how long my week little pathetic nails are right now. Be sure to clean your nails off with remover right before you paint (that way you will get rid of any oils that can cause the polish to lift) and then paint away.
Make sure that you do the basecoat/topcoat deal. When you do your topcoat make sure you paint along the edges and a little bit under the tip.
Then if you are doing a high maintainence shade give yourself an extra brush of topcoat every other day or so.....
Trust me if works!!!

My foolproof routine is also a bit odd.

I swipe my nails with a bit of alcohol (Isopropyl, not vodka!) to clean them (and the alcohol helps any water evaporate, too). I use Seche Vite basecoat to hold the polish on. Then I put two coats of polish on. Then I put on Seche Top Coat. That quickly dries all of the polish.

The next day, I put on a slight coat of the colored polish, and concentrate on the tips. I follow this with a Sally Hansen top coat, then another Seche. My polish doesn't budge for days!

(Weird, the patterns you can come up with, huh?)

*jen
www.fifty-centhead.com

Batgoddess, you have some really good tips except, well, it doesn't make any difference if you are using "polish" or "lacquer" because polishes ARE lacquers, chemically speaking. It's a marketing thing to call them "lacquers."
You use lacquer thinner to thin them, right? You know, after the bottle's been opened many times and you're halfway down the bottle. I keep some lacquer thinner in a dropper bottle and add a few drops or a squirt to my old polish (or nail lacquer if you insist). I find that keeping my polish thinned this way reduces chipping.
The only other tip I can add is to do a daily "renewal" of your polish. Go sideways along your tips to color the edges and fill in any chipped areas and let dry. Then do a full sweep with a clear coat. I'm a busy girl so I do the color patching at night before bed, and in the morning, I buckle up my seat belt and start my car but leave it in park and apply a clear coat to all nails before taking off. Clear goes on fast and doesn't show mistakes like a color would. 15 minutes of driving and my nails are hard-set and ready for the day.
BTW I'm a sucker for 99 cent nail polish.
Hope this helps!

Wow this is really helpful, i've been doing it all wrong! Thanks so much for the tips, can't wait to try this out.

First off, look for nail lacquers as opposed to polishes. They have a thicker consistency that clings to the nail better.
(Examples: OPI, Orly, China Glaze, Essie, Savvy)
Secondly, make sure your nails are super clean before you polish -- swipe Acetone polish remover (or better yet, dehydrant designed for use with artificial nails) over each nail before you polish to remove any excess oils that can keep polish from sticking.
Third, use a rubberized or sticky base coat like Orly's Bonder (available at Sally Beauty Supply) which stays slightly tacky and allows your polish to stick to it.
Fourth, apply two thin coats of polish. If you get your polish too thick, it will chip back off.
Fifth, either use a bonding top coat like Seche Vite, which fuses the layers of polish together to prevent chipping, or use a clear base coat for your top coat (weird, I know, but since base coats are designed to stick to your nail, they tend to provide a little extra protection). Also, top coats designed to seal rhinestones and nail art are a good choice.
Lastly, swipe the brush horizontally along the free edge of your nail, getting the underside as well. This helps to provide a barrier of sorts against impact.

Hope this helps! =D