re-white letters s+w 442-2

dougbull · April 23, 2011, 03:44 PM

Hello, I thought there was a post here a little while ago about re- whiting letters, I think the poster made the letters white on his x-d. maybe I am wrong. But is there a way to re-white the letters on the s+w 442-2 that I just bought and make it look right? THANKS

AK103K · April 23, 2011, 04:27 PM

I just use model paint in the color I want. Slightly overfill what I want highlighted, let it dry, then wipe the excess off with a patch wet/damp with Hoppes, WD-40, Gun Scrubber, etc.

LarryFlew · April 23, 2011, 05:55 PM

+1 for model paint. Almost all of my bluer guns have white lettering and my silver guns have black lettering

HKFan9 · April 25, 2011, 09:49 PM

How well does model paint last after oil and solvents get a hold of it. Normally I like to use EEZOX or CLP. I have a HK P7 that I might get the slide refinished and would like to re-white the letters.

AK103K · April 26, 2011, 03:57 AM

Solvents will eventually get to the model paints, but they are easy to touch up. You really have to soak the spot and rub it too to start to see a difference. Paint on a smooth barrel tends to come off quicker than paint in the recess's of the letters.

You could also use fingernail polish. Its a little more durable.

publius · April 28, 2011, 09:07 PM

Cleaning products will destroy model paints. I get a bottle of white car touch up paint an suck some into a hypodermic needle. Works great. Make sure your gun is completely de-greased with paint thinner.

HKFan9 · April 28, 2011, 09:14 PM

Hmmm never even considered the nail polish... OR the car touch up stuff..... I guess I get to get weird stares when checking out nail polish now.

shanzlik · April 29, 2011, 07:59 AM

Lacquer sticks also work well and are easy to apply. Markal is one brand. Brownell's also sells some but I hven't tried those. http://www.brownells.com/1/3/brownells-lacquer-stick

AK103K · April 29, 2011, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Cleaning products will destroy model paints.

For the most part, they do, but its really not as bad as it sounds. The solvent usually has to sit on the paint a little while before it dissolves it, and usually some effort is involved at getting it off.

On the plus side, where the lettering is usually located on the gun, solvents arent usually present, or at least in any quantity or length of time to really be a problem.

The solvent issue is itself also somewhat of a plus, as it does allow you to pretty easily remove the paint completely if you chose later, or easily touch it up. It also makes it easier to get a good job of it done, as removing the excess is pretty easy.

April 23, 2011, 03:44 PM	#1
dougbull Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 2008 Posts: 127	re-white letters s+w 442-2 Hello, I thought there was a post here a little while ago about re- whiting letters, I think the poster made the letters white on his x-d. maybe I am wrong. But is there a way to re-white the letters on the s+w 442-2 that I just bought and make it look right? THANKS

April 28, 2011, 09:07 PM	#6
publius Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2005 Location: Mississippi/Texas Posts: 2,505	Cleaning products will destroy model paints. I get a bottle of white car touch up paint an suck some into a hypodermic needle. Works great. Make sure your gun is completely de-greased with paint thinner. __________________ "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress, but I repeat myself." Mark Twain

April 29, 2011, 07:59 AM	#8
shanzlik Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 547	Lacquer sticks also work well and are easy to apply. Markal is one brand. Brownell's also sells some but I hven't tried those. http://www.brownells.com/1/3/brownells-lacquer-stick __________________ TSRA Life Member, NRA Endowment Life Member, SAF Life Member My EDC - STI Shadow My blog - firearm reviews, etc.

April 23, 2011, 04:27 PM	#2
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	I just use model paint in the color I want. Slightly overfill what I want highlighted, let it dry, then wipe the excess off with a patch wet/damp with Hoppes, WD-40, Gun Scrubber, etc.

April 23, 2011, 05:55 PM	#3
LarryFlew Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2009 Location: Minnesota CZ fan Posts: 902	+1 for model paint. Almost all of my bluer guns have white lettering and my silver guns have black lettering

April 25, 2011, 09:49 PM	#4
HKFan9 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2008 Posts: 3,057	How well does model paint last after oil and solvents get a hold of it. Normally I like to use EEZOX or CLP. I have a HK P7 that I might get the slide refinished and would like to re-white the letters.

April 26, 2011, 03:57 AM	#5
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	Solvents will eventually get to the model paints, but they are easy to touch up. You really have to soak the spot and rub it too to start to see a difference. Paint on a smooth barrel tends to come off quicker than paint in the recess's of the letters. You could also use fingernail polish. Its a little more durable.

April 28, 2011, 09:14 PM	#7
HKFan9 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2008 Posts: 3,057	Hmmm never even considered the nail polish... OR the car touch up stuff..... I guess I get to get weird stares when checking out nail polish now.