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Paint for sights?

J

jerrywc

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Summit, Or
Hi,
I bought a 9mm Shield a couple of days ago. I just cleaned and inspected it and found that part of the paint on one of the rear sights was missing. So, I need to repaint it. What would be the best paint to use for whiteness?
Thanks
Jerry
 
I use Testors enamel model paint in the small jars for sight paint.
I have white and bright red for front sights and flat back for rears.


I shoot a 9mm Shield in IDPA BUG and consider the white dot rears to be an abomination for fast accurate shooting. I spend too much time looking at the rear sights already to want any white or color on them.
I shot the pistol first in the classifier with stock sights and then with blacked out rears, with a significantly better score.
Your gun, your choice.
 
Same as my new 9mm Shield. Left dot is almost empty.
Home Depot white appliance epoxy paint apply with tooth pick. Do both so paint matches.
Testors is good too but comes off too easily.
 
I use Do-It vinyl paint. It is intended for metal fishing lures. It
is tuff stuff, thins with acetone. For replacing dots I put a artist
brush handle in pencil sharpener and turn it to slightly smaller
than wanted dot size. Just pick up a drop of paint and touch it
to spot and lift straight away- perfect dot. Cabelas and fishing
Suppliers have this paint, all colors. I have enamels, finger nail
Polish, Testors- found Do-it the best. I have lots of experience
with dots from putting eyes on hundreds of jigs and lures. Try
your hand at it on a piece of paper, easy to get the hang of.
 
Testors also makes a fluorescent model paint -- and it's really very visible in lower light and bright light conditions. If you can find it -- only big hobby shops are likely to carry it, locally -- it would be worth a try. A kit of 5 colors (mix small amounts to get the shade you want) can be found on Amazon. Enough for years!
 
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Amazon $12.99 for all three colors.
f67b80d245f46e1eec3c10b5cfd7f24b.jpg


Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
 
One of the first things I did was get rid of the 3 white dots on my new Shield 45.
Flouresent orange up front, and black rears.
Nail polish from Walmart, a buck or two a bottle. I've also used a Sharpie to back out the rears.
 

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I was thinking Red for front sight & Green for the rears. Anyone have any ideas? 🇺🇸

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the responses. I'll have to try blacking out the rear sights and see what that does to my sight picture. I haven't fired this gun yet so we shall see.
Jerry
 
10-8 rear blacked out sights with Traffic Cone bright orange nail polish from Walmart. It pops and works fantastic for my aging eyes still. Dab with a toothpick and done.
 
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I heard that Sharpie makes a paint pen that works well. We have some somewhere in the house. The sights fall out of the M&Ps eventually. I usually use nail polish.
 
My eyes at getting old. I found Walmart green glow paint. Work so well I did all my handguns. Wife really liked it, did hers also. Any light behind it really makes it stand out. About the same color as Hi Viz and a whole lot cheaper.
 
Testor's model paint is cheap, tough and easy to find. Clean the sight with alcohol, roll on a thin undercoat of white first to make the top color brighter. Then a top coat of red/green, etc. Use a toothpick as the applicator as you want just enough to cover the sight, not fill the groves.
Lots of previous discussion here on this topic.
 
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Houlton said:
My eyes at getting old. I found Walmart green glow paint. Work so well I did all my handguns. Wife really liked it, did hers also. Any light behind it really makes it stand out. About the same color as Hi Viz and a whole lot cheaper.
Click to expand...
Houlton, got any pics of the product you used? I've been thinking about doing something like this. You are the 1st I've heard of actually doing it. I would like to know exactly what you used and how you applied it.
 
jerrywc said:
Hi,
I bought a 9mm Shield a couple of days ago. I just cleaned and inspected it and found that part of the paint on one of the rear sights was missing. So, I need to repaint it. What would be the best paint to use for whiteness?
Thanks
Jerry
Click to expand...

I did the same to both my 9mm and 45 Shield.

medium.jpg


medium.jpg
 
I also used acrylic paint. I painted front green, rear red and put some glow in the dark over the green. I dont use the glow in the dark though, doesnt work well after a day or 2.

I will change the rear sights to orange or maybe even a yellowish orange, i do not like the rear sights red
 

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On stock "3 white dot" sights i leave the rear as-is but color in the front with bright orange/red nail polish. That stuff can last a long time, and it gives me something to browse for when out shopping with the wife when she's in stores like Ulta, etc..

;)
 
Laketime said:
Price Comparison Made Easy - FindSimilar.com

If you are going to do it,do it right.
Click to expand...

That's pretty expensive and if you try it you'll learn that it can be awkward to use. (There are a number of products out there that do basically the same thing.) Be warned, too, that you need to keep the bottle tightly closed, as the stuff can dry out quickly.

Phosphorescent paint must be charged by light before use, and it's meant to be a cheaper version of a night sight. Ot might be okay in lower lighting conditions, like the fluorescent paint, but using it as a night sight can be a problematic -- as charging it (maybe with a flashlight) can give away your location or slow you down -- and other ways of charging it may affect your night vision.

For double the amount you'd spend to get that paint, you can just about get a set of night sights -- and you can certainly get a tritium front sight for not much more than the cost of the paint.

I've been there and done that, and I'd rather have night sights. If I don't have night sights on a gun, I use fluorescent paint. If you just want a vivid sight picture, a light-colored nail polish works well, too.
 
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