Has anybody ever tried to "refinish" the gray/black factory sight blade that has some minor scratches and wear on the front of the blade. Is there a special type of paint etc.?
I don't know about refinishing the blade. Maybe some black fingernail polish? I use fingernail polish to color the front sight on my 640-1. I clean any oil off the sight to prep it and apply a coat of white with a toothpick. After that dries, your choice of color. I like a bright green. Usually, a couple of coats and I'm done. A clear nail hardener and it will last a long time. Also pretty easy to remove! Hope this helps!
The front sight on a -3 is a pinned on black ramp. It's carbon steel that's been blued. Get a cold blue touch-up pen, and re-blue it.
Otherwise, punch out the pin, and replace the sight with a new one. S&W sells them, but you may have to drill a hole in the new blade. I think they come blank -- without being pre-drilled.
I didn't paint mine I took off the old sight and put an XS big dot night sight on. I liked it so much I put one on my 649 and the M&P 340 I just ordered has one.
The front sight on a -3 is a pinned on black ramp. It's carbon steel that's been blued. Get a cold blue touch-up pen, and re-blue it.
Otherwise, punch out the pin, and replace the sight with a new one. S&W sells them, but you may have to drill a hole in the new blade. I think they come blank -- without being pre-drilled.
I agree, it's an easy fix to cold blue. I recently did that to mine and it turned out nicely.