sight paint

I was shooting the other day and the paint in my front sight came out. I considered a new front sight but I just do not like any I have seen better than the factory ones.
I did search here and found several posts about painting it back with everything from liquid paper to model paint. I did find Bright Sights high-visibility gun sight coating
and
SiteGlo glow in the dark sight paint.

Again I searched but I didn't find anything on these two products. I like the white original paint but thought if it was possibly a slight glow I might like it as well. Has anyone tried either of these products? If so were they any better than a good repaint with normal enamel paint? Any info good or bad is appreciated.

I have been looking at those items too. Glow in the dark is not so important, as I understand they only glow for a short time anyway. But high contrast, bright colors would be good for my 66 year old eyes to pick up on more quickly.

I think orange and green would do the trick.

Trouble is, the only way to know if it's something that works or a gimmick is to ask someone that tried it.

On the other hand -- they couldn't sell it if it didn't work -- could they?????

I would also be interested in others experience with these products. Do they last any longer that the regular white paint currently on some firearms.

Also for a dummy like me , what type of paint works best? I added some Krylon white paint to my LCP sights to help "find" them and it works great - but the paint although recommended for metal is too soft and gets peeled off slowly using a holster. Need a harder cured paint.

I've tried Testers model paint but it wears off after several months. The bright orange worked best for me.

If I can find some of this stuff i'll give it a try.

I've had the bright sights for awhile, and it works okay. I use it on my LCP and S&W Airweight. Sometimes it comes off, but I just re-apply it. Also, if I have a mood swing, I can change the color.

Does it work better than nail polish? I don't know as I've never tried that.

I wouldn't give it a rave review, but I wouldn't pan it, either.

Altered,
I bought the kit you have listed first in your post. I tried it and found the paint to be watery and it does not cover very well. I went back to using Testers model paint in the bright orange.

I think I am just going to try the white Bright Sights high-visibility paint. Its only $11.45 using what they call normal shipping. I think I do good enough with white and I like the original look. I just cant see good at all when there is no dot. If I remember Ill post back how it works out.

Thanks jmfc606 Ill see how this does. I just ordered it while you posted. :lol: Didnt cost too much to try.

AGE Ranger said:

I've tried Testers model paint but it wears off after several months. The bright orange worked best for me.

Click to expand...

I put on three or four coats of Testors at a time and I have several guns it's been on for years and years.

I "renew" it by rubbing it with a common pencil eraser. It cleans the paint and knocks the distracting shine off of it. Also, I'm careful about keeping cleaning solvents and oils away from the paint.

I used a day glow paint from Wally World craft section. The glo only works if " charged" with light and then lasts approx 5 minutes. My rear sight is orange, while the front sight is either yellow or white (yes it comes off periodically). On my revolvers the orange goes on the front.
gramps

Ok, I know this is not what your after, because its a bit expensive, but I'll throw it out there.
Not long ago I bought a Ruger Single Ten, it came with Anderson sights, truly the best fiber optics this old man has ever seen. So I was curious, went to there web site, found out they have been in business forever, etc. simply a great product for sight acquisition.
The single ten has the brightest sights I have ever used. Now all that said, they rely on light to glow, so they wouldn't work in the dark.

I have used this paint in the past. It works OK depending on the gun. It wears off pretty quick if there is any wear at all on the sights from holstering etc. It's OK if you have no funds for sights. If you need cheaper, fiber optic would be better. My Judge has FO that gets filthy after shooting (it's ported) and I refresh the sights with about $0.25 worth of material and a lighter. I have to say the best thing IMO is to buy, or save up to buy if you have to, a high quality night sight. As for the paint, I still use it on my LCP (but those aren't sights).

You are asking this question at the right time of the year.

After Haloween, go out to your local Kmart or Wally World and wander over to the nail polish section. They normally clearance all of the "Holiday nail polish" after Haloween and you can pick up all the flourescents you want for like $0.60 per bottle.

Buy some bright white, flo orange, and some clear.

Clean your sight well, then apply a thin coat of white as a base coat where you want to brighten up the sight. After it dries, paint on the flo orange and allow it to dry. Sand lightly to get rid of any imperfections in the surface. Now hit it with a coat of clear and sand it after it dries, this will knock off the gloss and make the sight appear flat. The clear keeps the orange from fading or getting too dirty and the white undercoat makes the orange really pop.

Here is the front sight on one of my Super Blackhawks. I redid the sight after this photo was taken to ensure you couldn't see any of the white undercoating.


I have a bottle of dedicated "sight paint" I bought some years back for like $8.00 for a tiny little bottle. The nail polish is every bit as bright and I could do something like 1000 guns with as much polish comes in one bottle.

Thanks for the tips and info. Ill sure keep these in mind.

Altered said:

I was shooting the other day and the paint in my front sight came out. I considered a new front sight but I just do not like any I have seen better than the factory ones.
I did search here and found several posts about painting it back with everything from liquid paper to model paint. I did find Bright Sights high-visibility gun sight coating

and
SiteGlo glow in the dark sight paint.

Again I searched but I didn't find anything on these two products. I like the white original paint but thought if it was possibly a slight glow I might like it as well. Has anyone tried either of these products? If so were they any better than a good repaint with normal enamel paint? Any info good or bad is appreciated.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this!

Petie said:

Also for a dummy like me , what type of paint works best? I added some Krylon white paint to my LCP sights to help "find" them and it works great - but the paint although recommended for metal is too soft and gets peeled off slowly using a holster. Need a harder cured paint.

Click to expand...

Last weekend I had a bad time shooting at a white target (during a match, luckily for me) with a white painted front sight. I simply lost the sight in the background, and scored very poorly. I'm currently planning on repainting the sight to lime green, as I see it better than international orange.