I know that there have been numerous threads in which everyone shares his/her method of making a front sight more visible under various light conditions. But I don't know that I've ever seen this specific item addressed.

My carry piece needs a treatment of this nature(Some of you will say that most defensive shooting has to be done without the sights. If that's the case, allow me to consider the exceptional situation.). I've decided to go with Testor's model paint, but I'm not sure what color would be the best. I have a jar of fluorescent green on hand. Anyone ever used it? If so, does it seem to work well?

I'm sure that a fluorescent orange or red would work, but I'm the kind of guy who likes to use what's in current inventory if it makes sense.

Thanks for your wisdom, friends.
Andy

I use white appliance enamel, it dries really hard, doesn't come off each time I clean the gun and most importantly it picks up ambient light and reflects it in the almost dark.
Shows up the front sight really well.
I've been using the Appliance Enamel since the 70s.

Rule 303

I agree with rule303 on the appliance paint. Model paints tend to chip or flake and don't hold up well to solvents, probably failing when their needed the most.

I have in the past used a commercially available sight paint, coming up on 20 years on an 870 slug barrel.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

Had a friend some time back who had painted his front sights bright green and it picked up just fine. I'm currently using a bright orange nail polish over two thin coats of a base white, with a clear overcoat. This has held up well for me for several years now.

My Optometrist buddy long ago told me that Orange/Red were two of the WORST colors for the human eye to pick up. And that YELLOW or a greenish yellow (like on new Fire trucks!) was a good choice.

And that one of the better colors , easily picked up ...is a light to medium BLUE.

I used a fine sable brush and dabbed on yellow model paint on my shooter guns years ago. Still there on many of them. Easy to soak in some paint thinner, etc...soften it up and remove it...then repaint.

Each to your own, but yellow works great for me.

FN in MT

I have had good luck with the bright white Testor's model paint. Holding well with no chipping off or flaking.

I recently picked up a used 457 that has a fluorescent green on the front site and I don't like it as well as the white, but that's just me. I can't hit the broad side of the barn with that gun, so maybe that's why???


Pete

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Don't tread on me

When the night sights gave out on my 4553, I painted the dots with Testors, white for the rear and fluorescent orange for the front. After the paint dried I coated it with a layer of my wife’s clear nail polish. It has held up to solvents and oils for almost two years now.

I use fluorescent green and it works pretty good for my old eyes. If everything works just right it looks like a green stripe down the top of my high gloss nickle plated 1911.

Remember when those little bottles of Testor's paints were 10 cents?

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Term limits!

And plastic model airplane kits were from 29 cents to maybe three bucks?

I remember when a bottle cost 10 cents and every five & dime carried them. These days, Testor's paint is getting hard to find, at least around these parts.

Thanks so much, fellas; you're a great bunch of guys.

I can only get Testor's at Hobby Lobby. Some folks at Walmart told me that they quit handling it because so few kids are interested in building models anymore. They don't handle the models, paint, glue, etc.

Andy

If you can't get it local check here - Welcome to Testors

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Don't tread on me

On a blued gun I like White or Orange. On a stainless I like Orange better. I tried Green on a stainless front sight and I found that it was harder to see than Orange. I also have had good luck with White on blued guns.

I plan on changing the front sight on my 6" 624 to fiber with green and red inserts so that I can see which I like better.

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Corripe Cervisiam

There is a specific paint for this called SiteGlo.You can google the website. I havn't tried it,but tried something similar a few years ago.It was a fluorescent green,but needed to be charged with a flashlight to be highly visible in darkness.
The charge only lasted an hour or so,if I remember correctly.There are green nite inserts that can be installed on a revolver,about like installing a red ramp.

I've been using garish nail polish for years...........some folks are red/orange colorblind, some are green/blue colorblind, so you need to experiment with what works best with your eyes. I went into a Walgreens around Halloween several years ago when they had all kinds of weird colors for the costumed folks, and bought eight bottles at $1 each. Here's what I settled on......in three years it hasn't shown any appreciable wear.

For daytime use I like orange. Orange is very visible, I guess that's why some states require *Hunter Orange* clothing while hunting in national forest?

The best lume paint I know of is used to lume watch dials. The good stuff lasts for more than an hour. I know the lume on my watch, once charged, is visible for several hours. I've been wanting to buy a small vial of it and paint the front sight on my Model 58.

Aloha,

I use brite yellow marking paint pens.

I did find several sites who make/sell paints for watches and gun sights.

As usual, I thought I save themas Favorites. Not, I lost them somewhere

NoctliLuma makes lume paint that several popular watch makers use to re-lume watch dials. That's the one want to try out.

Oh now that looks like the way to go. Went to their website NoctiLumina® Luminizing Kits and they have pretty well any color you want in a light activated paint. Thanks for the heads up.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

Just borrow your wife's red fingernail polish.

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Bud

Several years ago, I purchased a set of "Bright Sights" paint colors, with Ghost Glow. Each color is two solutions you mix together. The set had three colors, green, yellow, and orange. The green is my favorite, and is a sort of dark mint green and will have a faint luminous to it several hours after being exposed to light. I use it on small carry guns, and it proves to be quick to pick up. If yo know just how small the sights are on a Ruger LCP, you know what I mean. I use a dremel ball end cutter (in my drill press) to make a slight depression in the front sight, then build up the mixed green solution.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I have found the flourescent green works very well.

NB

I tend to use green on blued, or black finishes and orange on stainless guns.
I've been using C&S Lure Coatings with excellent results, durability-wise.

I'm just about to finish up another 638 that I started last night. I got the base white & two coats
of orange on last night and let that cure overnight before applying a coat of the clear sealer tonight.



Below is better view of the M642 shown above.



On a somewhat related note, here's a couple of photo's I took earlier today for
another thread showing fingernail polish in the barrel lettering.





Fingernail polish, it's not just for fingernails anymore......

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Ogy

LOVE the blue lettering! I'm gonna have to try that one on my 642.

Thanks PJ! My goal was to highlight the lettering without being too in your face.
I figured "S&W blue" might just do that on stainless.

Edited to add: For the record, the polish I used was, Sally Hansen No. 130, called, "Blue Me Away!"
It's also labeled as, Hard as Nails Xtreme wear.......

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Ogy

1124 green in Testor's works best for me. I've tried orange and red, they don't seem to "jump" out as well for me as the green. White flares so bad when hit by bright sunlight.
I've tried the flourecent sprays that you find in Lowe's or other similar stores. Works OK, you just have to either mask off the sights, or spray it into a paper cup and use a brush.
I've tried the SiteGlo, it is was too much bother to apply, and didn't seem to last any longer that the Testor's.
Best thing I can recommend is just start experimenting, that's the only way to find what works best for YOU.