Vent: Couldn't remove set screw, pushed out sight anyway, damaged new Shield Plus :(

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newpewpew

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I was changing to night sights on some of my pistols. Couldn't get out the set screw on the rear sight of the Shield Plus. Stripped a few hex wrenches. Tried wrapping the wrenches in Teflon tape, touching the screw with a soldering iron in case there was heavy thread locker on it. Even tried to crazy glue the wrench into the hole.

I was hungry and hadn't eaten dinner yet, and it was 9pm so I couldn't go to Harbor Freight to get a set of cheap extractor drill bits. Being impatient, I used my sight pusher to push out the rear sight to the right. Thought it would just make a scratch that I could paint over and cover up with the new sight. But the set screw made a small 1/16" gouge on the right edge of the slide where the hole is for the firing pin block plunger :( Looks ugly, makes a tiny gap where liquids could enter. I feel dumb.

Didn't take pics of it, but I filled in the gouge with dark gray gasket maker that I had laying around. Applied it with a toothpick. After it cures and hardens in 24 hours, will smooth it out, use black touch up paint. Will take a pic afterwards. Main concern is that the gap will be filled, and secondary concern is that it won't look too bad.

Feel real stupid. Googled about this problem and read that I shouldn't have done this. Now I'm going to eat my dinner. :(:(
 
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My shield 1.0 was a PITA to get out also. I had to heat the screw with a torch and beat the **** out of it with a punch. Even being in a vice i barely got it. The rear sight is all beat up from the punch and looks horrible, so i will have to replace it. I sanded the **** out of the dovetail to make it easier to slide back in and its still really heard. I hear your pain and was very frustrated when I removed the rear sight also.


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Gasket maker was dry enough, and I got the rear sight replaced. Gap is filled, but not sure how long it will last. It's a semi stiff material, and not a hard. Will paint over it after it completely cures.



But then I also found out that I cracked the front tritium vial. Didn't realize the narrow part of the sight pusher had skipped over the base of the sight and was pushing on the vial casing. Hiviz cases also seem thinner than other brands, so I should have been extra careful There goes another $80. I make boo boo to the 2nd power.



Before the Shield Plus, I changed out the sights on a Bodyguard 380 with Truglo night sights, and didn't have any problems.
 
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Stuff happens. My sight pusher twisted somehow and I scratched up my slide... it's not the end of the world.
 
Thanks for the comments. Here's a picture of the gasket maker filling. Added some black touch up paint after I took the picture. 3.6 set screws? Not great, not terrible.
Z
 

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It's that NcStar front and rear sight pusher, got it on sale. I used a socket wrench to turn the bolt when it got real tough :mad:


Switched the Hiviz sight with a Truglo sight. Casing seems a lot sturdier, although one trade off is smaller windows for the fiber optics.



Added 2nd layer of touch up paint, looks messy but I think it'll smooth out over time with use and cleaning.
 

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newpewpew said:
Gasket maker was dry enough, and I got the rear sight replaced. Gap is filled, but not sure how long it will last. It's a semi stiff material, and not a hard. Will paint over it after it completely cures.



But then I also found out that I cracked the front tritium vial. Didn't realize the narrow part of the sight pusher had skipped over the base of the sight and was pushing on the vial casing. Hiviz cases also seem thinner than other brands, so I should have been extra careful There goes another $80. I make boo boo to the 2nd power.



Before the Shield Plus, I changed out the sights on a Bodyguard 380 with Truglo night sights, and didn't have any problems.
Click to expand...

I would remove the gasket maker, and fill it with JB Weld instead. You can file it and sand it if necessary, and then use a black Birchwood Casey touch up pen.

51yLI1oMDGL._AC_SL1200_.jpg


[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Super-Black-Touch-Up/dp/B00JSAE0ZY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2YMCQQYC2L2A&dchild=1&keywords=birchwood+casey+super+black&qid=1619377603&sprefix=birchwood%2Cundefined%2C174&sr=8-2[/ame]
 
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Yeah the Birchwood Casey is the touch up paint that I used. The marker tip dries up so fast :mad:

If the gasket maker has any signs of wearing out I'll go look for the JB Weld like you suggested. I used whatever I had in my closet :cool:
 
I imagine we've all had wrestling matches with sights at one time or another. I've removed the sights on most of my M&P's for one reason or another and found some are more cooperative than others. Looks like you recovered nicely.

Once a particularly stubborn sight is out I will second the idea of a little altering of the sight to improve fit is usually OK but I never attempt to alter the dovetail itself.
 
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