Painting Front Sight on Fixed Sighted Revolvers

[kbm6893]

I have several. A 10-8, a 64, a K38 Masterpiece, a 640 no dash, and now a 681. I'd like to paint the front sights. Some youtube videos kind of suck and I get tired watching them to see if they are good. I'm looking for as bright as possible. Neon green, red, or orange would be fine. Probably leave the K38 alone. Why mess with a 60 year old gun?

I want it to be completely reversable and able to be wiped off if I get any on the finish. I will tape off the area around the sight.

So advice would be helpful!

 

[WR Moore]

Sometimes a white base coat helps brightness. I've used red nail polish a couple times with good results. Degrease first. Fingernail polish remover (acetone) and some scrubbing will remove.

That said, the paint can sometimes be reflective.

 

[Andy Lowry]

Your local Walmart should have an assortment of Testor's fluorescent acrylic paints. They're inexpensive and are thick enough for easy application. Acrylic will chip off more easily than enamel, so I put a coat of clear fingernail polish over the paint. No trouble to remove if you get tired of it, and any evidence of clumsiness wipes off easily before it dries.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

I use fingernail polish...not on me, on the sights! My instructed me to put on a coat of white first to make it brighter.

Then I like orangish red as the top coat. Durable but will come off with nail polish remover.


Here's some on a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 special

on a Colt Commander

1917 N-frame .45

and the list goes on...

 

[andy52]

Extremely easy to remove if you don't like it, a little acetone and your back to square one.

 

[Walking softly]

Front sight paint

Yes, often the front sight will benefit from a contrasting color. Orange and red are great in daylight, but I prefer white, it is visible in daylight and reduced light.

I mask the front sight and paint 2 coats of appliance chip repair paint. It's durable, has never needed repair and wipes clean. I used it on a ported revolver and wipe the sight clean after every range session.

 

[eb07]

Glow on paint on all mine.... Edited for photos.

Glow-On

Not only does it give you a sight you can see during the day but one shot with a light and you have a night sights.

I use green so it looks white by day. On all my revolvers. Apply then a coat of clear nail polish. I have had EDC snubs still have it on a year later. They have many colors.

4" Model 19 ( my current EDC and bedside handgun) after one hit with light during day ( I only use front sight on this)




Smith 442 my

Day





Night



It lasts 5 minutes or more after you hit it once. In sunlight it glows a bit as well so you get a brighter sight.

Costs around ten bucks and I have done about five handguns with it and still have enough to do double that.

I think it's the best option out there.

 

[VaTom]

Did 3 of my revolvers last week. All with Testor"s fluorescent red enamel. Several coats. Be patience and give plenty of time between coats. A Model 64 (stainless), Model 10 (Nickel) and a Model 15. Clean the sight well with acetone or some type of solvent. Have a Model 63 with a factory red insert so decided to stay with red for all revolvers (see picture)

Bought some fluorescent yellow but did not like it on black finish. Also some gloss white to touch up sights on a 1985 Beretta 92F.

 

[chief38]

Testor's Model Paint is the way to go. Go to a craft store like Michael's, Jo-ann's, etc. and find the color you want. They are cheap enough to get a few colors - about $1.99 / 1 ounce bottle

HINTS:

Clean the area with Alcohol before applying paint & don't touch with fingers.

Use a wooden toothpick to apply, not a brush.

Apply 2 or 3 lighter coats, not a heavy one. Let dry 24 hours between coats and 48 hours before shooting.

Don't worry about any paint that goes over the sides - you can clean it up with a new razor blade when it dries.

If you want to remove it, use a new razor blade to remove the majority and then some paint thinner for the rest.

 

[chief38]

BTW,

Before painting the front sights on all your guns, do one first then shoot it outdoors in the sun. I find that the sun makes my red painted sight look gray. While the painted front sights usually work great indoors I find no so much outdoors - which is why I suggest doing one first and then if you like it proceed with the rest.

 

[gwpercle]

Bic White-Out correction fluid , available just about everywhere in brush or pen applicator , is flat white , fast drying lacquer.
Use as a base coat for colors....makes them brighter or just use the flat white like I do. I keep a pen in my shooting box.
Gary

 

[dr. K]

I went to the grocery store and bought the first white nail polish and the first red nail polish I saw. I taped the sides of the sight and looked down the sights of the (unloaded) revolver so I could pinpoint the area I wanted to highlight in color. I put the white on first and let it dry about 90%, then kind of dabbed it very lightly with my finger to texture it a bit. Once it was 100% dry I put red nail polish over top. S'pose I could have used orange or green or whatever... maybe lavender with glitter in it... but I liked red. If a gun's gonna wear nail polish, it should look classy enough for a night out on the town, I say. Anyhow, on a stainless gun nail polish remover with acetone on a q-tip will take it right off. I would NOT use that product on a blued gun, unless someone more knowledgeable than me on this forum says acetone is OK.

 

[stu1ritter]

+3 on Testors and I've tried quite a few others.

Stu

 

[mogwan]

Testor's makes a Flat White enamel that I've used on both front and rear sight blades (to renew the crappy factory white sight outline printing).

As others have said, go slow... tape carefully... I use a fine Sable brush.

If you really want more permanence, coat the finished job with Sally Hansen "Hard as Nails" clear polish cover.

 

[gwpercle]

I went to the grocery store and bought the first white nail polish and the first red nail polish I saw. I taped the sides of the sight and looked down the sights of the (unloaded) revolver so I could pinpoint the area I wanted to highlight in color. I put the white on first and let it dry about 90%, then kind of dabbed it very lightly with my finger to texture it a bit. Once it was 100% dry I put red nail polish over top. S'pose I could have used orange or green or whatever... maybe lavender with glitter in it... but I liked red. If a gun's gonna wear nail polish, it should look classy enough for a night out on the town, I say. Anyhow, on a stainless gun nail polish remover with acetone on a q-tip will take it right off. I would NOT use that product on a blued gun, unless someone more knowledgeable than me on this forum says acetone is OK.

Acetone will not damage a blued finish. Plastic and the finish on wood grips is another matter...they might be damaged.
Interestingly , whatever material toothbrushes are made from , acetone doesn't melt them....I use acetone and a toothbrush to clean bullet moulds all the time...maybe they are made of Nylon,
acetone is one of the best degreasers but it is potent and will damage some plastics...so be careful when using it.
Nail Polish Remover is just lacquer thinner, it may damage some plastics and wood finishes.
Just be careful when using any of these , remove grips and wipe off any spills on plastics .
Gary

 

[TheGrimReaper]

Your local Walmart should have an assortment of Testor's fluorescent acrylic paints. They're inexpensive and are thick enough for easy application. Acrylic will chip off more easily than enamel, so I put a coat of clear fingernail polish over the paint. No trouble to remove if you get tired of it, and any evidence of clumsiness wipes off easily before it dries.

Excatly what I do too.

 

[jimmyj]

I use fingernail polish (Walmart). I paint the entire front ramp blade with red and just the tip of the sight with white.

 

[papajohn428]

I use fingernail polish (Walmart). I paint the entire front ramp blade with red and just the tip of the sight with white.

I do that too, it gives a more precise sight picture.

One suggestion I'd make it to try several different colors and see what pops the best for your vision. I used white, yellow and red for years, then found a bottle of bright green nail polish and WOW, what a difference! It seems almost luminescent. A dab of white on top, and it was perfect.

 

[WR Moore]

I did the nail polish thing on a 64 and it works great if there's light from behind. Not quite the result I expected with the light from other angles. Being curious, I compared the result to a 36 3" HB that had been Armoloyed and the sight not painted and that sight showed up much better without paint than the 64's.

I've had much better results with other pistols. I do believe the issue with a lot of the pistols is the ramp angle of the front sight. The ramp angle on the 36 is much steeper than that of a 64. If you shortened the length of the sight by about half, you'd have a much better sight picture.

I've got a few blued dovetail front sights for auto pistols hanging around, hummmm.

 

[oddshooter]

Nail polish is tough when dry:
Bright White as a base. required.
Triple Orange as the color. easiest to see
Clear coat to keep the shine and protect.

Works great and is inexpensive.

I even sometimes outline the top of my rear sight in white.

I've done dozens and dozens. I can't see black sights on a black target.


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