442 sight painting question

[baird]

I have a 442 no-lock and use it for occasional off-duty carry. I just qualified again with it yesterday and finally realized it is becoming harder to see the black on black sights. I have thought about using either a bright colored nail polish or one of the luminous paints to try to brighten the front sight.

My question is: who has used one or the other and did you like the results? I have used red in the past with a M64 duty gun with so-so results. I wonder if the newer paint or glow in the dark stuff really works. If so, what colors do you recommend?

Pictures are always appreciated of course. Thanks for any help.

 

[zoom6zoom]

I thought of doing it, but then realized I only do point shooting with my snubby, so the sights are ignored.

 

[flop-shank]

I used flourescent orange paint on the front sight of three of my guns. The sights work better than plain black and the paint wears surprisingly well. Try it. If you don't like it, laquer thinner will return things to status quo.

 

[BSkerj]

I used my wives ceremic fourescent orange paint. I dabbed on with a tooth pick and it has held up real well.

 

[baird]

Thanks for the responses. I do believe I will try it.

 

[7shooter]

I've used fishing lure paint applied with a tooth pick. First put a layer of white, allow to dry and then put either red or green. The layer of white makes the top color appear brighter. If you don't like the finished product it is easy to scrape off with your finger nail.

 

[nitesite]

A light sky blue is better in low light, because the rods in your retina "see" that wavelength better. Put another way blue colors appear more intense relative to reds at twilight.

It's a real quandry as to which color to apply. Colors near the red end of the spectrum (bright orange) appear almost black in dim light but are better in bright light.

Fluorescent chartreuse is closer to the blue end and can be seen quite well in low light but it sucks against a bright background.

 

[zercool]

I used a bit of flat white Testors enamel on the front blade of my GI 1911. Improved things dramatically, simply because I could find that in the dark rear sight.

 

[baird]

Dang, more stuff to sort through.

I went to a local craft superstore and was not able to find anything suitable. After I got home, I realized my 16 yr. old daughter had some obnoxious fingernail polish I could try. I will try the hot pink and the day-glo green to see which suits me better.

The search continues...

 

[GatorFarmer]

White paint from a Testor's Paint marker and then coat glow in the dark nail polish (which is slightly greenish tinged) from Walmart over that.

 

[indiandave]

I use orange nail polish. It is easy to see. Comes off with acetone and does not hurt the gun.

 

[cmort666]

Originally posted by baird:
I have a 442 no-lock and use it for occasional off-duty carry. I just qualified again with it yesterday and finally realized it is becoming harder to see the black on black sights. I have thought about using either a bright colored nail polish or one of the luminous paints to try to brighten the front sight.

My question is: who has used one or the other and did you like the results? I have used red in the past with a M64 duty gun with so-so results. I wonder if the newer paint or glow in the dark stuff really works. If so, what colors do you recommend?

Pictures are always appreciated of course. Thanks for any help.

I don't have pictures, but at somebody else's suggestion, I painted the front sight on my 3" Model 65, using their technique.

First I laid down a base coat of white enamel. Once that dried, I put on orange enamel (purchased at a model shop). This gives a nice bright orange front sight that's easy to see.

I did the same thing on my Model 14 for our club's double action revolver league... until they changed to silhouettes with orange centers! I ended up scraping the paint off again a couple of weeks ago so that I could see the front sight, which was the same color as the target.

 

[baird]

Well I did the white base coat followed by a lime green top coat. It looks pretty good, but time will tell if it's usable in various lighting conditions. If not, it's time for a new color.

Thanks to all for the advice!

 

[mchasal]

Originally posted by GatorFarmer:
White paint from a Testor's Paint marker and then coat glow in the dark nail polish (which is slightly greenish tinged) from Walmart over that.

Do you actually get any glow from that? Since the sights aren't exposed to any light when in the pocket/holster I imagine it wouldn't get charged up.

 

[Bobwtn]

Using sight on short barrel... do many here do that very much? I usually shoot combat style as I was trained over 9 yrs as LEO (1974-1983) and we never used the sights. Even at 25 yrds, we would look "over" the barrel with a two-hand shooting stance. It would not give a lot of tight groups, but did put them in "kill zones" on K-5 targets.

 

[Jeb Stonewall]

My hunting revolvers use orange on the front sight.
But on my snubs I use yellow on the front and rear both.
Might try the light blue mentioned above.