Hey all.

I’ve got a slight problem. I have a m65 with a 3-inch barrel. It is a police trade in model. I’ve had it for close to 20 years.

The front sight originally had some orange or red color applied to the serrated front of the sight. That paint is now faded badly. It’s barely able to be seen when taking aim. Without the contrast of the bright red or orange paint, it’s difficult to obtain an accurate sight picture of your target. I need to know what to do to give me back a functional front sight.

What have you all found works best and gives a nice BRIGHT sight?

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you all kindly.

Larry

You can use nail polish or model paint.

I like Birchwood Casey Sight Pens best. They are super bright and the paint stick around for a long time. They come in a 3 pen package with white and neon green and red. They also sell a flat black touch up pen too.

You first put on the white and let it dry. Then one of the colors which pop with the white base. The have worked well for me.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Reverify POI and POA then order a DP fiber front:
Sights, for S&W Pinned, Front Fiber Optic, by Dawson Precision - Dawson Precision, Inc.

Testor's model paint in the tiny 1/4 oz glass bottle. Get the color you like in a gloss finish. I like the #1127 Orange but that's a personal preference.

Clean the front sight with Alcohol, apply 3 light coats and let them dry at least 24 hours between coats. It will hold up against gun solvents and oils, won't come off unless you want to remove it and if you want to renew it down the road, just add another coat after cleaning it.

Testor's works much better than nail polish and is more visible.

Over the years I have used model enamel with good success, and you will have many recommendations for this. This has the advantage of using different colors until you find what you prefer. Similar but a bit more durable are the "Sight Paint" kits available from Brownell's and others, But my favorite is Forster "Bonanza Gold" that is intended as a filler for lettering on firearms. This will give a distinct "Gold bead" effect to the front sight of your revolver, and it is easily restored. At least give it a look.

I use a cheater magnifying headband and a toothpick.
Hold the gun in firing stance and pick out just the area on front sight you need to color - don’t paint the whole blade.
Degrease with alcohol or similar, white nail polish for base and your choice of a fluorescent color on top. I get small bottle from hobby store.
Don’t use the nail polish brush, take a small amount off brush with toothpick and let it flow onto the sight. Get the technique down with the nail polish and have some remover handy.
I did have a front sight insert done on my 3” 65 by gunsmith however.

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I would strip off the old paint with acetone, this will also remove any oils. Apply matte white enamel paint, then whatever color you like. The matte white as a primer covers well and hides the color of the underlying metal, making the color coat more vibrant. Testor's enamel hobby paints are great for coloring sights.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

At age 78 I'm getting to where painted front sights are necessary, especially at indoor range with some low light conditions on the target.

I prefer the Testor's Model paints. Several bright colors, cheap, easily removeable when selling or renewing.

Like said clean with acetone, wipe dry, apply paint to the serrations, let dry and hit the range. No need to be thick and drooling over the edges. Really helps me.

Pics are my Model 36-1, Nickle with Testor's fluorescent red, last pics of same gun when I sold it to another Member last year and removed the paint quickly and easily with acetone and a old toothbrush. Have not ever experienced any finish problems with blue, nickle or even stainless revolvers.

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Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

I agree - but instead of the Acetone, I use Ronson or Zippo lighter fluid (Naphtha) and an old toothbrush when removing old sight paint. It is way way safer and more gentle. If you are using an oil based paint, it will work just fine. Yes, Acetone works great on removing paint, but get some on grips, some work bench surfaces, some tools, etc. - it can damage it quickly before you get to wipe it off. I do keep Acetone in the shop but only use it as a last resort. I've had too many items ruined or marked up by Acetone. I have even spilled it once by accident - NOT PRETTY!

BTW, just as a preventative measure, for any here who have watched Snubbyfan's youtube channel you will know what I am talking about. He uses a quick set Vice-grip clamp on bottles and containers to make them very stable so they can't spill over. I think it's a great idea!! I have started doing that myself. THANKS SNUBBY!!

Notice in Baxter6551’s pics that he’s only painted part of the ramp. I like that much better than painting all of it. Do what you choose but plan ahead!

I’ve used Testors and nail polish both with no white undercoat, works ok but will try the white sometime. Meanwhile, I’m currently working on filing the notch for my first home epoxy insert.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

I paint ONLY the portion of the ramp that would normally have the dovetailed red plastic insert from the factory. Over the years I have become more of a fan of the painted sight rather than the plastic insert for several reasons.

The plastic shrinks over time and can fall out - been there, done that. They also dull over time and become less useful. A painted sight cam always be removed, resurfaced or have the color changed with bo fuss.

I have also learned that in bright sunlight a plain black/blued factory sight that comes with a blued gun works best for me. Inside, the orange / reddish color seems to work great. When using Testor's paint, it's no big deal to modify, remove or re-color.

I second Stansdds's recommendation for a white base before applying color.

My go to is fingernail polish in a color called "Traffic Cone." It is on every one of my handguns. The top 1/8 inch works miracles for me indoors and out.

Bic White-Out Correction Pen . Much easier to apply with pen than a brush . With practice you can do nice " Dots" too .
Applying a coat to serrated part of sight is easy with the Pen .
I don't color the sides just the sighting surface ... if the whole front sight is painted ... somebody was just sloppy with a brush and got it all over ... be neat , use the pen !

The color is White ... I was going to use it as a base coat for a day-glo green or orange paint . After using the White Color for awhile ... I discovered I prefered the White , easier to see against all backgrounds , even light color background .

Cheap and Easy to find in Wally Mart store , keep one in shooting bag for quick touch up .
As a base coat to Day-Glo color it makes it very bright ... more so than just putting color on the steel sight .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

A long time ago I bought close out nail polish for $0.10 a bottle. It has served me very well for handgun sights. It's probably $2.00 now but still cheap.

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Front sight and squeeze

It seems to me everything said about a white base was already recommended in Post #2. It is true, the white base does make the colors pop.

White out is nowhere near as good as the sight paint available on the market today. (Post #2)

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Neon Pop nail polish. It was the brightest orange color Wal Mart had. I put it on my Pitbull, 642, and Bodyguard.

I’ve used this stuff for 30 years or more. I have some guns that the paint is probably 30 years old and still holds up well. Testors fluorescent orange.

Is there a specific kind of TESTORS paint to get? I know they have different kinds of pain for different surfaces it’s gonna be used on.

Which one works best?

Thanks all.

Did you even look at the sight pens from Birchwood Casey?

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

If you don't holster the gun I like to take 1/8" copper tape. Clean the blade , start with a piece way too long, push it into the serrations if you have them, then with an Xacto knife cut off the extra. Clear coat with finger nail polish. Nothing catches my eye better than a gold bead. This is as good.