Sight paint

Took my bride to the range today. We took a number of guns with us to shoot. I had put a grip on her Lady Lilac 380 and it helped with the feel. She had complained that it felt too thin the last time. I took my new LCP and the PA-63. The LCP has the crimson trace, but I wanted to shoot it both ways,... with and without the laser on. The Lady Lilac has nice sites on it,... but the LCP and the PA-63 sites are non-existent. I was contemplating having the gunsmith put new sights on the PA-63, but bought some sight paint to try first. Anyone have any experience with sight paint?

I used Testors orange on the front sight of my hunting SBH 20 years ago. I believe I just shook the little bottle and thinned what was in the cap. Clean the surface of the sight. I like denatured alcohol. I believe it took about 3 thin coats to come out perfectly. The paint's held up even with a lot of holster time.

Yep ..... what Cholo said. Exactly what I do too.

same here use white first let it dry then use the color of your choice. I use a tooth pick as an applicator, then balance the gun with the sight down, to make sure nothing runs down the side.
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same here ,we too use the 'Testers', the Day Glo orange paint............

Don't laugh, but on my pellet guns, I've used cheap nail polish. It works great, comes in all kinds on florescent colors and is really cheap. If embarrassed to pick it up, ask the wife to grab one for you. It was under $2.00 a bottle.

IMHO nail polish is second only to WD-40 and Duct Tape as the do-it-all DIY product. Clear nail hardener dries almost as hard as two-part epoxy, can be used between parts when they are assembled where it behaves like glue (yet can be loosened pretty easily by letting a little nail polish remover penetrate the gap), is impervious to many chemicals, including most (not all) petroleum products (obviously, nail polish remover or anything with acetone in it will dissolve the polish), many brands even provide decent UV protection to help prevent fading of the base color.

The clear hardener even, gasp, protects finger nails. I play guitar and ukulele finger style so I need the nails on my thumb and first two fingers of my right hand to be a little longer than normal and not crack. So, yeah, here's one fumfy-something guy who not only is not embarrassed to be seen buying it, I actually wear it (clear, of course). Very few people even notice - or, if they do, they think it best to keep their mouths shut.

John

Be careful of taping your gun prior to painting. I used scotch tape on my LCP, and now it rusts where the tape was applied.
gramps

If you need to tape - use blue painters tape, then after removing it clean with alcohol and then rub it down with a good gun oil and wipe dry. Bluing is porous...even shiny glossy bluing...the gun oil penetrates the bluing and helps protect the metal from corrosion. Never leave any kind of tape on for days, weeks, months, etc. Finish the job, remove the tape, clean and oil, all with as little delay as practical.

Another tip...if you need to touch up with cold bluing - rub oil in well as it will help blend the original and the touched up bluing.

John

I like to use white appliance touch-up paint on mine.

Testors Orange here for about fifteen years. Even put a drop on the font sight of my pistols with typical 3-dot sights.

+1 to the Testors enamel paint. I, too, use the two-part process, first coating the sight with Testor's flat white and then their International Orange. The front posts of my SKS and AR get the treatment, along with the dimple in my EAA Witness .45's front blade.
I notice there is no mention of those Bright Sight paints that I've seen, and for good reason. Avoid them, as they're extremely dull, easily damaged and don't cover well.

Some time ago, I used Brownell's acrylic sight insert kit to enhance my .357 Blackhawk's front sight. It did a marvelous job, even though I had to whittle at the sight with some files to establish a dovetail socket to retain the insert.

However, it seems either the powdered dye or the activator part of the kit spoils over time, as my next attempt on a Taurus 617 blade came out incredibly dull.

This thread reminded me that I've been meaning to pick up some paint for my AR and SKS sights as these old eyes can't see them like they used to. I just compared Testors blaze orange paint with some blaze orange fingernail polish in the store...I came home with the fingernail polish. It takes a couple of coats to cover something dark, like a black sight, but it's much brighter than the paint and can be removed easily with fingernail polish remover. (And don't ask me what woman wants to wear blaze orange fingernail polish but obviously some do as they're making it...)

John

Like some of the posters above, I have had very good success with finger nail polish.

Many colors to choose from, and $3.00 buys you a lifetime supply.

All my various nail painted sights are holding up well in use. I have yet to have to touch one up.

My LCP site. Coated with white nail polish. The same as I use on my nails for the fourth of July for white.

Elkein said:

My LCP site. Coated with white nail polish. The same as I use on my nails for the fourth of July for white.

Click to expand...

Toes or fingers, or both?

OldePhart: I to use clear, hardening nail polish for my pick nails. I use a thumb pick and three fingers for guitar. I read somewhere that Chet Atkens traveled with glue and ping pong balls. He would cut and glue the material from the balls in place of nails, he believed the curve of the ball was perfect when applied to his nails. How about that, he invented glue on nails. I also use my nails for banjo but must have a thumb pick. I find the thumb picks not as uncomfortable as those awful finger picks. My hand just refuses to bend right for a good solid pluck with my thumb nail. Now, it's off to the store, to check out colored polish. I've got a couple of P95 I'd like to treat the Ruger name and logo and check out the effect. Thanks for the ideas. Shoot, Pick, and Grin, no problems.

Shoot, pick, and grin, indeed!