good sight paint?

[hayeserone]

Just painted the sights on my Taurus PT111 G2. I used generic nail polish from Wallgreens in florescent orange (front) green (back). I removed the white clay from the rear sights with a toothpick. The front sight clay did not come out as easy so I left it to serve as the base coat. The rear well was so shallow that it made applying a base coat difficult. So I went without it. I feel they could be a bit brighter as a result of no base but I'm happy so far with the results considering the effort. The front brightness is great. These plastic sights are not my favorite. (No offense Taurus) Any improvement until they're replaced with something nicer is a welcomed one. Let's see how long the hold up...



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[849ACSO]

White nail polish. Has been on the front bade of my Smith 360 for nearly 2 years. Gets carried DAILY in an ankle holster (My LEO BUG).

[hayeserone]

Originally Posted by hayeserone

Just painted the sights on my Taurus PT111 G2. I used generic nail polish from Wallgreens in florescent orange (front) green (back). I removed the white clay from the rear sights with a toothpick. The front sight clay did not come out as easy so I left it to serve as the base coat. The rear well was so shallow that it made applying a base coat difficult. So I went without it. I feel they could be a bit brighter as a result of no base but I'm happy so far with the results considering the effort. The front brightness is great. These plastic sights are not my favorite. (No offense Taurus) Any improvement until they're replaced with something nicer is a welcomed one. Let's see how long the hold up...



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Went ahead & painted the slide since the shop was set up.


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[MT 73]

Porcelain Touch up.
Lasts for years.

[Auto5]

For the last few years I've used a white appliance touch up pen.

[dgludwig]

An old thread but still relevant I guess. One type of paint that holds up under use and stays bright is the paint marketed to color jigs used for fishing. It is modestly priced and you can find it at most any sporting goods store.

[pblanc]

Over the past 35 years I've tried all kinds of paints, nail polish, Brownell's sight kit, etc. trying to find the best way to paint sights. Absolutely the best products I've found come from Glow Inc.

They last the longest, work the best, and have a page specifically dedicated to painting sights and how to do it. They have paints that are glow in daylight, glow in the dark, or both.

The glow in the dark paints need to be "charged" (exposed to light) and will glow quite brightly for about 1 hour and continue to glow at a dimmer level for up to 10 hours.

As with anything that works well - the products are not inexpensive, but they do work better than anything I've found for painting sights in 35 years of using different products searching for "the best."

Based on your recommendation I just bought a 1/2 ounce jar of the Glow V10 ultra green paint, and I have to tell you I am quite disappointed.

I am not blaming you as I perhaps misunderstood the nature of this product, or perhaps I got a batch of defective product. Perhaps you can lend some insight on what I should expect or have expected.

I read through the information on the Glow website under the "projects" tab for painting gun sights. The only paint they recommended was the V10 ultra-green glow in the dark paint. Accordingly, I bought a jar through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Green-Gl...the+dark+paint

Based on that photo, I expected to receive a jar of pretty intensely neon green paint that would be green in the daytime and glow green (after charging) at night.

What I received was a jar of cream-colored paint with absolutely no green color whatsoever in daytime light conditions. I put this jar under a bright light for hours yesterday to see if it would "charge" and turn green. It remains without any green color. In the dark it glows faintly green.

Is this what I should expect from this paint, or is there something wrong with it?

I called the number for Glow customer support. Got a message saying CS was unavailable which seemed odd since I called at 1:30 PM CST on a Friday. I left a message and have not received a return phone call as yet. Also directed a question to the seller through Amazon.com. Have not yet received a reply but it has only been a day.

I wanted a paint that would allow a contrasting front sight dot that could be easily picked up in daytime conditions that would have the secondary benefit of providing some glow at twilight. This stuff is useless for that purpose. I would much have preferred just using some bright green, orange, or yellow nail polish with no glow in the dark capability. I think that would stand out better in dim light conditions than the pathetically weak glow of this paint.

[slaf4u]

Glow-on paint applied on my Arcus 94.
The paint is white, glows glows for a minute in greenish-white color when "charged" for a second or two with a flash light. After application of the paint a layer of clear nail lacquer is added.


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[hayeserone]

Originally Posted by pblanc

Based on your recommendation I just bought a 1/2 ounce jar of the Glow V10 ultra green paint, and I have to tell you I am quite disappointed.

I am not blaming you as I perhaps misunderstood the nature of this product, or perhaps I got a batch of defective product. Perhaps you can lend some insight on what I should expect or have expected.

I read through the information on the Glow website under the "projects" tab for painting gun sights. The only paint they recommended was the V10 ultra-green glow in the dark paint. Accordingly, I bought a jar through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Green-Gl...the+dark+paint

Based on that photo, I expected to receive a jar of pretty intensely neon green paint that would be green in the daytime and glow green (after charging) at night.

What I received was a jar of cream-colored paint with absolutely no green color whatsoever in daytime light conditions. I put this jar under a bright light for hours yesterday to see if it would "charge" and turn green. It remains without any green color. In the dark it glows faintly green.

Is this what I should expect from this paint, or is there something wrong with it?

I called the number for Glow customer support. Got a message saying CS was unavailable which seemed odd since I called at 1:30 PM CST on a Friday. I left a message and have not received a return phone call as yet. Also directed a question to the seller through Amazon.com. Have not yet received a reply but it has only been a day.

I wanted a paint that would allow a contrasting front sight dot that could be easily picked up in daytime conditions that would have the secondary benefit of providing some glow at twilight. This stuff is useless for that purpose. I would much have preferred just using some bright green, orange, or yellow nail polish with no glow in the dark capability. I think that would stand out better in dim light conditions than the pathetically weak glow of this paint.

I tried nail polish at first. Testors is the truth. The colors are brighter than nail polish & goes on thinner, easier to apply & last longer. Plus they're way cheaper. Non acetone will work the same to remove. I have a black light in the bedroom that makes the sights pop like no other. I'm actually in the process right now. I'll upload some pics when I'm done.

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[pblanc]

I tried nail polish at first. Testors is the truth. The colors are brighter than nail polish & goes on thinner, easier to apply & last longer. Plus they're way cheaper. Non acetone will work the same to remove. I have a black light in the bedroom that makes the sights pop like no other. I'm actually in the process right now. I'll upload some pics when I'm done.

What type of Testor's paint did you use? I am familiar with their enamel paints that come in the small glass jars. But they also make acrylic paints. If you used enamel, what color did you use?

[pblanc]

Glow-on paint applied on my Arcus 94.
The paint is white, glows glows for a minute in greenish-white color when "charged" for a second or two with a flash light. After application of the paint a layer of clear nail lacquer is added.

Well, that looks considerably better than the pathetic glow I am seeing with the "Glow" paint. But it still provides no front sight contrast in daylight conditions, correct?

[hayeserone]

Originally Posted by pblanc

What type of Testor's paint did you use? I am familiar with their enamel paints that come in the small glass jars. But they also make acrylic paints. If you used enamel, what color did you use?

Enamel, I used orange fluorescent for the front sight & yellow fluorescent for the rear. Don't forget the white base coat. I used flat white.


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[slaf4u]

It depends how it's applied. Initially I've painted only the small dot in the front sight and it was OK for general use. Now I have the whole back-side of the front sight painted. When you shoot fast at dark colored targets up to 10 yds. it's perfect but if you shoot at white paper targets or you try precise shooting...well things don't look that good then.

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[pblanc]

Enamel, I used orange fluorescent for the front sight & yellow fluorescent for the rear. Don't forget the white base coat. I used flat white.

Thanks for the info and prompt response. I just ordered some of the Testors fluorescent enamel. I have already painted the dots with flat, white acrylic. I will try applying enamel of acrylic. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

[hayeserone]

Originally Posted by pblanc

Thanks for the info and prompt response. I just ordered some of the Testors fluorescent enamel. I have already painted to dots with flat, white acrylic. I will try applying enamel of acrylic. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

No worries, help is what we're all here for. I'll post some photos later. I'll even take some in the black lights. The Testor's colors are so much brighter I decided to repaint the slide engravings as well. Should be done today.

*Updated photos:







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[michael t]

I use Testors model paint.

[Roland Thunder]

Get some white-out from an office supply store or Walmart. It works well.

[pblanc]

I applied the Testors fluorescent enamel paint today over some white acrylic paint and it worked fine. Looks very good for daytime use. I do not know how much better it will be than non-fluorescent white for dim light use as yet.

For anyone considering buying the Glow Inc. paint for gun sights let me offer some advice: don't. I returned the stuff I bought to Amazon today for refund.

This may be different from the Glow-on paint. I am perplexed by the positive reviews for Glow Inc. paint on the Amazon website. There were many negative reviews especially from individuals like myself who bought it for sights, but some who did so actually posted a positive reply. It is as if they are talking about a different product entirely. Perhaps the quality of this product has taken a nosedive recently, or their quality control sucks, or the product is being supplied by a counterfeiter.

Here is my experience. First, the appearance of the paint in the jar is not remotely like the vivid green paint shown in the advertising photo. The paint is cream colored and has no green tint whatsoever. Since it is an off-white color, it will make your sight dot harder to pick up in daylight than a bright white dot.

Second, the consistency of this crap is terrible. It is more like a paste than a paint and it is gritty. It dries to an ugly, rough texture. The pasty consistency of the paint makes it difficult to apply, and impossible to apply in multiple thin coats as recommended.

I tried putting the jar of paint directly under a bright light all day. After that in dark conditions it had but a faint greenish glow. that faded within a half hour.

As soon as I saw the consistency of this garbage, I knew I did not want to mess up my sights with it. I tested it on the primer of a spent cartridge casing to see if it would work at all. I first painted the primer with a white paint and after it dried applied a coat of the V-10. Because of the goopy consistency, one fairly thick coat is all I could apply. After that dried I put the cartridge casing 3-4" directly beneath a 75 W incandescent bulb of a reading lamp for 4 hours to charge it. I then took it into a dark room.

The paint glowed but it had an irregular, non-uniform fluorescence. The glow started to fade almost immediately. I left it in the dark and came back 10-15 minutes later and the glow had faded to nearly invisible. I don't think I need to tell anyone here that a product that performs like this would be of absolutely no value on a self-defense weapon.

This crap might be good for painting neat little stars, planets, and half-moons on the ceiling of your daughter's bedroom, that will glow for a few minutes as she drops off to sleep. For gun sights forget about it.