I was watching Midway's How-To youtube video for installing a red ramp sight on a model 15. In the video, Larry files and fills the plain blued sight with a hardened red resin. Seemed simple enough.

Has anyone tried this on the little nub of a front sight found on the fixed sight models? Did you like it?

I'm think of trying it on one of my 30-1s.

I prefer a painted sight over a plastic insert. I find the plastic inserts are not as bright as carefully applied paint, and they are harder to maintain or refresh after they get dulled.

I usually use Testor's enamel model paints, but nail polish can also do a good job.

If a gun is cut for an insert, but the insert is dull or missing, then there are several threads on this site about how to replace it. But I personally would not cut a sight that was whole and in good shape. Paint works well, and is quite tough if it is properly applied.

Many years ago, I installed a RR in the semi ramp of my dad's 1952 .38 M&P. I used a solid piece of plastic and cut it to size. It still looks pretty good.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I've installed red ramps a bunch of times using a file and the epoxy kit however over the past 30 years I've much preferred using Testor's model enamel paint. Testor's paint is available in many colors and it is as good and for many shooters better than the Factory inserts. If you dislike the painted sight color at any time, removal of the paint is easy and quick. Colors can be changed any time you want and most importantly, if you decide to sell the gun it can easily be removed and the gun is restored back to Factory specs.

To me, the Tetsor's paint method is far superior for all the above reasons and you take no chance in damaging the Revolver.

Hints: If you do decide to use the Testor's paint, clean the front sight very well with Alcohol prior to painting it. Do NOT use a paint brush - use a wooden tooth pick to apply & make sure you stir up the paint well with a toothpick prior to using. You are much better off using 2 lighter coats than one heavy one. Prepare a place for the gun to sit over night to dry that is dust free and level so the paint doesn't pool one way or the other.

+1 Testors. Simple, easy, reversible, adjustable.

Stu

Before fiber optics, I used to paint my sights with Testor's also. A thin white base coat makes any color a lot brighter. I usually used flourescent orange on top of that, but light blue worked fairly well, too. Then a top coat of clear nail polish, letting each coat dry for a day before applying the next one. After everything is well cured, I shaved the sides and top off with a single edge razor blade for a crisp sight picture.

Without the clear top coat, smoke and powder residue gets imbedded in the paint and it has to be removed and redone periodically. With the clear top coat, you can wipe all the dirt off with a rag and it's like new in seconds.

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protocalldesign.com

I have a 3" 65 that had a red ramp added in the 80s..... today I prefer painting them...florescent orange Testors over a white base coat. I paint the entire length to get a 'flash sight picture"

Fiber optics where the front sight can be replaced.

I "paint" mine . A base coat of Bic White-Out correction fluid
(flat white ) I use the flat white sight as is but a day-glo color , nail polish or archery sight paint will do just fine .
If I went to filing on the little front sight I would mess it up and need a new sight . Paint comes off with acetone !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Paint is easier to remove if you don’t like it. And you can change colors later if you want. I found on my blue fixed sight guns that a white blade stands out best for me. But I like orange or yellow on some. I have one that has two colors in a step. Orange on top white on bottom. I can use the top for normal distance and use the bottom to reach out there.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

I'm with the paint crowd.

I use Testor's enamel paint, fluorescent orange over a white base coat for me. I only color the portion of the sight visible in the notch as Nomadmax mentioned (the rest of the sight is painted black since I have a 642 with silver sights...FYI, I painted the rear sights black). And like Protocall_Design mentioned, I apply a top coat of clear nail polish. I hadn't thought of the powder-embedding issue, but I did more as protection against wear-and-tear so it lasts longer. I last painted it about a year-and-a-half ago and it's still going strong.

I have in the past installed numerous sight inserts. Doing a proper dovetail with anchoring holes is imperative to a secure insert. The most difficult sight that I did was on a model 60 Ladysmith. The sight is so thin, I was skeptical that it would hold. The lady that owns it showed it to me about a month ago, and after about 20 years, still looks good.

Today, I'm more prone to go with Testers model car paint or fingernail polish, as those products can be readily removed without altering the factory condition.

WR

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God, Country, Family

I am also a fan of Testors, but the modern fiber optic front sights are very, very nice.

At one time I did a lot of the inserts. A couple comments:

1 The angle of the sight face to the eyes can make a BIG difference on how well the insert/paint works. The steeper angle of the adjustable sight guns is much more visible than the gentle slope of the fixed sight guns, especially with bull barrel.

2. Under certain lighting conditions, even the red insert can gray out and you lose your front sight. The angle of the sight face also factors in. Best to discover this with paint. I changed a front sight on a 1911 after losing the front sight in the fluorescent lighting of an indoor range.

I have seen it done occasionally on the smaller front sight blade of a fixed sight revolver. It seems technically more challenging to do or have done but if you want to try it, why not?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

This is a very helpful comment, WR. If (big "if") there is enough material, I may try filing the front sight at a steeper angle overall, first, and then installing the sight.

If you do it, it won’t be factory... and will hurt the value. If you screw it up, you will hate yourself every time you look at it.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

This has been my experience with the full-ramp sight on my 642. I've tried different colors, and there always seems to be some lighting condition that washes out the front sight of my 642. I stuck with fluorescent orange simply because it's the color of the front sight on my PX4 Compact and I like having consistent sight pictures.

I've often thought about having a gunsmith re-profile the front sight to more of a modified-ramp or Patridge shape. If I ever get around to having an action job done on my 642 I may see about having that done, too.

What is this "value" you speak of?

A gun's worth is its usefulness as a tool, no matter what gunbroker may lead folks to believe. This is especially so on a shooter 30-1, the subject of this thread.

Not having a clue what a model 30 is, have you thought about getting the front sight removed and a dovetail cut in the barrel (assuming there's enough meat) for a different front sight?

If the current front sight is ye olde half moon, creating a flat 45 degree face on the rear and serrating it makes a world of difference.

"Not having a clue what a model 30 is..."

J frame revolver chambered in .32 S&W Long.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

go ahead, don't do it the safe ,simple easy way and touch up the blade top with "paint"...go ahead and ruin the guns value like so many others have over the years and then be sorry about it later, don't say we didn;t tell you NOT TO.!!!

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dan
NRA Benefactor,PMA

Try paint with gold in it. Got some at the hardware store for 3 bucks. It's supposed to have real gold leaf in it and it sure does stand out versus the original black front sight.

Ah so, thanks.

Oh - and I forgot to mention that sometimes the factory type red inserts fall out during a match! Paint won't!

What on earth are you rambling about?

He's talking about the reasons NOT to modify the front sight - but then you knew that.

If you are an expert at such things and fully confident in your ability to do this without botching the job, then by all means, it is your gun, have at it. As long as you don't care about devaluing a classic and hard to find S&W revolver.

I've only been doing mechanical and fabrication work for 45 or 50 years myself. So I wouldn't even consider doing this to one of my guns. The fixed blade sight on most of them is just too small.

I like the results I get with paint - for all the reasons previously mentioned by others here. But obviously you don't, and you only want to hear opinions that agree with yours.

Hate to tell you, but this isn't a good place to come looking for that kind of opinion if it entails making irreversible modifications to a classic S&W. Just the way it is around here.

But I wish you the best of luck with it.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

And yet another use for duct tape!
I found a picture of this conversion online and it made sense to me so I went at it. Filed down the blade until it was just out of the sight picture and added a slight angle to the backside which then got painted orange on top of white. In another week I will trim the paint with a X-ACTO knife. This works better than any painted front sight I’ve done. I still prefer a XS Sights Big Dot with the tritium insert as the small dot inside the big dot works well for me in most situations.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachm...1&d=1583327348

Attached Images

3964081F-91BE-4DA7-A1DD-A460BFD20351.jpeg (174.7 KB, 50 views)

Is it possible to convert the typical J fixed front sight to the pinned replaceable style?

That is something I've been thinking about having done by a gunsmith on my 642. I lack the skills to attempt such an undertaking.