Paint front sight?

[jlynch34]

I use a 'wild' bright green on my front sights that was intended for my bow sight pins.

 

[4inch357]

I'm going to have to breakdown and do it to my Blackhawk, I have a horrible time picking up the front sight - serrations don't help at all..........and yes I'm over 40 (51).

 

[MTKTM]

I ran across this thread because I recently picked up a 67 no-dash with the stainless sights. Great gun; nice trigger.

Problem is the front stainless sight is tough to pick up.

I read a few people in this thread saying green works good, but I also read on another website some guy saying that light blue works good for him.

From my scuba experience I know that of all the colors in the spectrum, blue is the last to disappear in low light. Green is second to last. Red disappears first.

It is also why when you go hunting in the morning and the sun is coming up, the last color you can see appear in the fall woods is red.

I will try both green and light blue this week and report what works better.

Back in '72 I bought a 67 no-dash, one of the first ones hot off the presses. I also found, even back then when I was a young pup, that the stainless sights were tough to see in some lighting conditions, so what I did was blacken them with a wooden match or, better yet, a candle. I'd repeat the application occasionally as needed. Worked great. I personally like flat black sights for most shooting chores.

 

[Alk8944]

Hopefully I'm not hijacking Wheel-er's thread but I thought this would be a good place to warn people if they're thinking of buying this product to paint their sights.

We might as well call a spade a spade m657. I also ordered the paint from BRIGHT SIGHTS in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Like you, I cleaned the sights as instructed and followed all instructions. I even let the paint dry for well over 72 hours. Also, like your experience, first the rear and then the front paint came loose and just peeled completely off in one big piece or "scab".

I e-mailed them a couple of times complaining about it and never got a response. I guess I should have called them but I always get a quick e-mail reply from good internet companies. I just chalked it up as a learning experience dealing with a subpar company selling a subpar product.

I usually don't defend any company, but I have been using the Bright Sights paint for 10-12 years. Either you did something wrong or they have changed their product, not impossible. The gun I carry most is a 640-1 that hasn't even needed to be touched up in several, 5+, years of carrying and shooting. This revolver is carried daily in a pocket holster. What I have found is when I want to remove it, as I have on some guns, this is somewhat difficult and takes more than one application of acetone and a toothbrush to get it off!

 

[AZ Desertrat]

I use red or orange.....works quite well.

 

[batmann]

In answer to your question, yes I do paint my front sites and I'm not a pro. I don't red or orange, I use Chartruese Green and I buy it at any fishing goods store, it is the same paint that is used on lead jigs and it has yet to rub off and I carry one almost daily.

 

[Gebe]

I usually don't defend any company, but I have been using the Bright Sights paint for 10-12 years. Either you did something wrong or they have changed their product, not impossible. The gun I carry most is a 640-1 that hasn't even needed to be touched up in several, 5+, years of carrying and shooting. This revolver is carried daily in a pocket holster. What I have found is when I want to remove it, as I have on some guns, this is somewhat difficult and takes more than one application of acetone and a toothbrush to get it off!

Hi Alk8944,
I appreciate your response and am very glad you have had great results and I'm not trying to start anything here, just relating my experience. However, like m657, I followed all directions to a tee and even very lightly roughed up the sights before I thoroughly cleaned them as instructed before painting.

It was a big disappointment to have it peel right off after all that work. This was applied to two rifles that were never handled roughly or even put in cases. Both rear sights and the front sight on one just fell off.

I will admit that I sent the company two more e-mails after posting in this thread and to their credit, they finally sent some replacement paint and cleaner. I have not tried it yet as I'm still a little paranoid to use it but I will and report back later.

Sorry to hijack Wheel-er's thread with this but again, just wanted to honestly report my experience. It's also ironic that m657 had the exact same problem.

 

[tac803]

+1 for orange paint on the front sight. When I woke up at the age of 40 to find my arms weren't long enough to read the paper, I also discovered the benefits of a bright colored paint on stainless front sights. I have been using a tube of old industrial paint that doesn't come off unless exposed to high level ordnance or lacquer thinner. I don't really care what it makes the gun look like as long as it gets me on target without struggling. Nope, I'm not a professional, but I did stay at a cheap hotel once.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

I've found that on stainless guns with stainless front sights I need something to help my eyes find the blade a bit quicker as the shiny front sights picture gets hard to find expecialy in direct sunlight.
I've been useing Testors Orange model paint & it holds up very well & is easy to apply & remove with acetone without harming anything..
I started this 940s front sight by first sighting the weapon & seeing were I wanted the paint, I just put on the part of the blade that you see when it's sighted properly, I then cleaned the bade with acetone after taking a stainless brush to the grooves to clean any rubbish out of them..
I applied the orange paint with a tooth pick & let it set up overnight, resting the gun so the blade was level.. Then cleaned up any excess with a q-tip dipped in acetone, The sight came out looking pretty good & has held up for over two years with lots of holster useage..
I need to do this to my 642 as well but haven't gotten around to it yet..
The Testors Orange looks the best to me but there's many differnt colors that could work, Try haveing a look at Walgreens in the wemens area at the fingernail polish, you'll notice there's alot of colors that just stand out from the others..
Gary/Hk

940s Front Sight Blade
Testors Orange

 

[stantheman86]

+1 for the Testors, best $4 I have spent in a while

I like the Red myself, put it on the front sight blade of my beater 6" 10-5 and it sights like a whole new gun now. In fact it's superior to the plastic insert.

 

[Gebe]

Very nice!

 

[Captain Hornet]

I have used the Testers model paint on my front sights with very good results, BUT, the paint comes in this really small bottle. Use it once and then screw the cap back on. After a month it's impossible to get the cap off. I finely tried some pliers and broke the glass bottle, making a huge red mess everywhere. Love the painted sights but the bottle caps are atom bomb proof. David

 

[Walter Rego]

Captain Hornet, The trick is to dab a bit of paper towel with some paint thinner and wipe the very top of the bottle clean as well as the inside of the bottle cap before screwing the cap back on. That will keep the lid from being stuck by the paint.

 

[Cpo1944]

I too have old eyes ,and need help.

The best I`ve found is to super glue a strip of plastic drink cup material to the sight . I like the bright yellow , it really stands out .
You can get lots of different colors and all of them are very bright ,and last a very long time .
Oh by the way I also tried and had absolutely no luck with the bright sight paint company that stuff is worthless.

 

[stantheman86]

The best part is, if it wears off in the holster, it can be re-applied in seconds.

Apparently the Testors thing has been popular for decades. I have seen some older S&W's with equally old, faint traces of Testors red on the front sight blades.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

I think what's so good about the Testors is you can put it were you want & it holds up pretty good, is available in lots of colors & can be removed without a trace with acetone, plus as stated above can be re-applied very easily..
It works way better than that rubbery sight paint that clumps up & leaves a ugly finish..

 

[JSR III]

I'm not sure why you feel the need for painted front sights, I can see mine just fine. Actually, I can see Russia from my house.

 

[BigBill]

I washed the area to be painted first with rubbing alcohol. The let it dry and paint. I purchased the white glo paint for doing sights. Then let it dry. It's been many years since on my ccw pistol.

 

[Macinaw]

I'm not sure why you feel the need for painted front sights, I can see mine just fine. Actually, I can see Russia from my house.

You revived a almost 4 and a half year old thread for that! God Bless You!

 

[Rpg]

Plain black sights work best for me. One reason I don't like stainless steel handguns.