Glow in the dark paint

[KnotRight]

I have been thinking about painting my sights with some glow in the dark paint.
Has anybody tried it? If so, where and what type paint did you use?

[vytoland]

don't waste your money.. the "glow" only lasts a short time and is not very effective in low light...

[allaroundhunter]

I agree with the post above. I don't see the use for it. If you want it as an alternative to a might sight then you're going to be sorely disappointed.

[g.willikers]

Florescent paint requires a light source to make them glow.
And if you have a light source, any good sight would do.

[Pahoo]

Florescent paint requires a light source to make them glow.

Not getting picky but it's important to know the difference the correct term is;
Phosphorescence. I mostly use Florescent paint and long ago, gave up on the Phosphorescence types. It will look fairly good for a time and then degenerate. Even when it no longer gets activated, it still stand out fairly well. ...

Be Safe !!!

[Garycw]

The green is supposed to last 24 hours, although that might be a big stretch. It goes on opaque, but glows green. Not sure if it helps over white or red/ orange base first?

http://glowinc.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=11

[Old_Dog]

Waste of money and time. They require a light source to charge and only last a little while. If your gun is holstered, it is not getting light. If it is in a gun safe it is not getting light. So where will the light source come from to make it glow? If your answer is a flashlight, you need to think about what you are saying.

If you have a light source to charge it, you have enough light to see your target. I see these things marketed to those who want tritium night sights but cannot afford them.

[DennRN]

No way.
Never.
There is literally no defense situation where I can see having glow in the dark paint on your sights as a better alternative to more conventional options.

Ideal scenario:
You hear a noise in your house, you get your gun.
It's dark enough that you can't see your sights, you think you have enough time so you turn on the lights and charge up the glow paint.
You go out and...
You can't see ANYTHING. You've just ruined your night vision! At least one eye is blind IF you were planning ahead and kept one closed, watching the door with the other eye and praying that you have enough time.

Why waste a few dollars on glow paint when a cheapo flashlight will certainly cost less, take less time to get ready, allow you to see your sights in silhouette, allow you to identify your target before you blindly shoot at a shadow whom you don't believe to be a loved one.

I have night sights on all my pistols and a laser grip/rail mounted laser on either of the two I'd grab in an emergency. I look at these things as an aid to get me at a ready position before I turn on my flashlight and announce myself with a red dot on center mass.

If you are planning to use the glow paint in a non-sd fashion, then ok, maybe... but do you know for certain your backstop is clear? Can you see your target? Are you positive you aren't "premeditated"...

If I had to choose between the best night sights and laser combo vs $5 flashlight, I'm going flashlight 100% of the time.

If you still want to paint your sights, you're probably best off using this
stuff Glow on or SiteGlo, both are purpose made and higher grade than the hobby stuff .

[Pond, James Pond]

I have tried it. I decided to knowing full well it might not be much use. However, given the results I've since gone ahead with a couple of my hand guns

I've never needed to use my gun at night so I can't say how they perform under pressure, but a glow is a glow...

If the paint is "charged", a decent quality paint will last quite a while: as with a decent quality watch, the luminescence should last all night, if not a full brightness, but you don't need that: you just need to be able to distinguish your sights from the surroundings.
To charge it, 30 seconds before you go to bed, under a small UV pocket torch (black light), and you're done. Keep the torch by your bed, and if you have a midnight "comfort" break, just zap them again when you come back to bed.

Yes, the initial brightness fades quite fast, but the "base" level of luminescence remains for quite a while and after a few hours my sights still glowed at a level not so dissimilar to my Glock tritiums (although they were second hand, and so may be a few years old...)

Aside from the few notes you'd spend on the paint and primer, you've little to lose as they look like regular white sights at any other time. I put a spot of superglue over mine to give them a tougher finish.

If you can afford and are willing to spend the money on tritiums: go with them. If you like white sights but want an option for the night: what do you have to lose?

That has been my experience.

[Doyle]

If somebody ever invents a time machine, you could go back to the '60s and get reall glow-in-the-dark paint. They had to stop making that stuff though because it was radio active. My cousin and I got hold of a bottle and painted all kinds of stuff with it. It did need a light source to charge it but once charged, it would last pretty much all night.

[Garycw]

The one from glowinc.com claims the green(which looks opaque in day) will last 24 hours. It will fade pretty quick at first, but will glow for hours. Never really timed it. It's not expensive, so you don't have much to loose. I'm sure there's other uses for it too just haven't thought about it much.

[TXAZ]

I'm very happy with nightsighters.com dots.

[Pond, James Pond]

After seeing this thread, I decided to have a little experiment.

I "charged" both my revolvers in sunlight this morning. Then I put them in my safe and went to work. I checked a short while ago: some 15 hours later.

Glow in the dark paint does not last 15 hours!!

There was a faint glow from one of them and if my eyes were acclimatised to the dark, I probably could have seen them.

Now what I need to do is check after mere 8 hours, given that is usually considered a full night's rest.

[g.willikers]

There would be one reason to use it - finding your gun in the dark.
Yes?

[Onward Allusion]

The Glow Inc paint DOES work. Not sure if it lasts 24 hours, but when exposed to room light for 10 minutes the bottle will glow for a good 10 hours. One of my 5906's had worn night sights and I'd dabbed a drop into each of the dots and they glow solid for a good 30 minutes from being exposed to a UV flashlight for couple of seconds.

Glow paint is a viable alternative to night sights for non-duty use. It works very well for a nightstand gun if you have a UV flashlight. Even a regular flashlight will charge it.

[Garycw]

I got some to freshen up some sights on a YUGO SKS. I have used on a pistol too. A camera flash will give it a quick strong charge. I'm not sure if charged in sunlight or longer with a high output light makes a difference or not. This thread has me curious to do a few experiments with it though. I've never tried to time it either. I know the initial bright glow fades pretty quick but in dark room with your eyes adjusted it may glow for hours. I'll compare it to my sig night sights

[Pond, James Pond]

Nice to see some positive experiences coming through.

They are no substitute to tritium, but they are an alternative and given the investment, they are not a huge gamble.

I'll be using the remaining 99.8% of the pot I bought to spot my daughter's room's ceiling à la night sky soon!!

On the prepping front, I should add that I dabbed mine with superglue to give them a translucent but tough finish: this probably reduces the light that gets to the paint and out of it, but if I hadn't I think my paint would've come off!!

[KnotRight]

I should have some in paint in hand on Monday (order on-line) and going to give it a try.

[Shadow9mm]

if you want glow in the dark get a set of night sights. painting it a waste of time and energy, i can personally vouch for it.

[SgtLumpy]

I agree with Shadow except I'd take it a step further. Trit sights are a waste of time and money. I've had them on a service revolver and a service shotgun. Worked the dark shift for years but never once got into any situation where they were of any use. It's kind of fun to walk around your dark house and see the dots. But in actual use, I never had, never heard of and can't conceive of, a situation where they are useful.

Hefty hunk of change. A few years later they stop glowing. Now you're back to plain iron sights.


Sgt Lumpy