• You are using the old Black Responsive theme. We have installed a new dark theme for you, called UI.X. This will work better with the new upgrade of our software. You can select it at the bottom of any page.

USE OF FINGER NAIL POLISH ON PISTOL SIGHTS - dupe thread merge

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

coronel

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
21
fingernail polish

Has anyone here tried finger nail polish to enhance visibility of their iron sights?
 
Yes. I use different colors for my front sight and the rear.
On blued metal it doesn't stay, but on modern painted on finishes it sticks just fine.
Fortunately there are all sorts of bright garish colors that women use.
 
Ive tried

Tried all sorts of nail polish modelers colors and my best and most lasting was Rustoleum spray paint they seem to stay on longer and brighter and was applied with a toothpick.
 
I used white nailpolish to repaint sights on one of my Norinco's and on my dad's USP...works great!
 
Are you serious? Make-up...

No, I'm just kidding. I have found that glow in the dark nail polish on a white polish basecoat is a wonderful 24/7 sight enhancement on my 10/22 factory post and as an outline for the rear. If the polish is "charged" before I enter a dark room I can shoot just as straight as daylight allows.
 
Well, I'm not quite there yet :) but I have used nail polish in place of Lock Tite 242 for scope mounting.
 
Yes, I find nail polish works very well, especially if you use white polish for an undercoat, and then apply your chosen color over it. Be sure to degrease the surface before appying, and it will wear very well.

One caveat: Sometimes when I'm out with the wife, I will grab a bottle of some garishly flourescent nail polish and say something like, "Hey honey, I need to try this color!". This prompts some odd looks from people nearby...:eek:
 
I use a dab of white-out whenever the dots on my Heine Straight-Eights begin to lose their luster and I've cleaned as much gunk off as I could.
 
Flouro orange nail polish on my Heinie straight eight front sight, makes it much easier to pick up in normal light conditions.
 
http://www.glowinc.com/
Bow, Rifle and Gun Sights

Official Statement

The owners of Glow Inc. support the legal and responsible ownership of weapons by both law enforcement and citizens. In the unfortunate scenario where there is a need to discharge a weapon, improved accuracy lowers the probability of injury to an innocent bystander. We feel that phosphorescent paint is a vital component of increasing this accuracy in dark environments. Your typical criminal will not take the effort or pay the cost to apply phosphorescent paint to his weapons. Therefore, we believe that making this information available is for the good of the community and hopefully will save a few innocent lives.

Glow in the dark paint is a great way to improve nighttime visibility of rifle and gun sights. As with any weapon addition, we encourage you to educate yourself regarding the performance of the product in different situations. We encourage you to use the information on our website and to analyze the weapon for several days in different lighting conditions so that you know what to expect regardless of the environment.

The only paint that we recommend using on a weapon is Ultra Green Glow in the Dark Paint. It is literally the brightest glow in the dark paint available anywhere. After charging from a bright light source, it will glow reasonable bright for about an hour. It will continue to glow, albeit dimly, for another 6-10 hours.

An officer will typically enter lighted rooms throughout his shift, so the glow product performs well under these conditions.

On the other hand, if your gun is in a dark locked box and you remove it at 2am in the dark, then your sights will not be visible.

Painting Techniques for Guns and Rifles

We suggest a 3 layered painting technique for optimum performance. If your gun or rifle has a clean gloss white paint on the sights, then you can leave it there and move on to the glow layer instructions.

Remove all paint from the site area, clean thoroughly and allow to dry.

Add a base layer of bright white, high gloss paint. I suggest inexpensive nail polish, but any solvent or water based acrylic will work. Allow the paint to dry between every layer.

Add a layer or more of Ultra Green Glow in the Dark Paint.

Coat with a sealer layer of clear solvent-based paint without any UV filtering additives. Once again, I suggest inexpensive clear nail polish. Some people opt for the more advanced clear coat that is manufactured to be resistant to gun cleaning solution.

Properly painted, the glow properties should last over 10 years with nominal degredation.
Click to expand...


http://www.lumi-lt.com/
 
I use model paint. Testors. Works real well. I use bright red or orange for the front sight and outline the rear sight with yellow. You can use your own combination.

Semper Fi
 
Go to a hobby store and get a small bottle of the Testor fluorescent paint...multiple colors available.
/Bryan
 
I've used typewriter correction fluid for years. Here's a tip -- try some low light level drills without it, then paint your sights and run the same drills immediately afterward and see the difference it makes.
 
You've posted this question in 3 separate forums...why don't you go look at the responses people have left you already instead of posting the same question over and over?
 
Get some actual pain designed for sights. Yes, I have used fingernail polish, but it chips real bad. get some real, and bright pain. It's worth the money. One push tube will last you for years! I have flor. green and white.
 
Been using it for years. Favorite is a lighter red with little aluminum flakes in it, "frosted," is what they call it.

Contrasts nicely with everything else in the world except something red, and the frosty-flakes seem to gather extra light.

Gotta degrease the sight (acetone on a q-tip applied several times), put a dab on the rear edge of the sight, let the gun dry up-side down, so the drop flows toward the top (now bottom) of the sight. (Don't use nail polish remover for degreasing. It contains "emollients," that is, oily substances --lanolin, I would guess, and the residual oil reduces the adhesion of the polish.)

There's a little techniique involved in getting it all just right, and the top of the drop level with the top of the sight. Practice makes perfect. There's one point in the drying process where a simple wipeoff with a finger does this leveling job perfectly. Then let it dry very thoroughly -- an hour at least.

Doesn't chip all that much in normal usage, but so what?

You do it all over again or repair it with another drop. Actually, with serrated front sights, it seems to stick darned pretty good --at least a season's shooting. And it's cheap, comes with its own brush.

For the rear sight (this was for competition shooting in broad daylight), I always kept a can of sight blacking spray in my possibles bag.

Another thing I used to do with the ex's cosmetics is use lipstick for free-floating stock bedding. The color is immaterial in this usage.

And don't fret about buying it. The clerks don't care as long as your money's green.
 
Yes, back in the olden days I used bright orange polish and it worked great. Now I have nite eyes on my carry guns instead. However, back when I was poorer the polish did 1/2 the job for 1/1000 of the price.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
fingernail polish
Replies
22
Views
870
kokapelli
K
ruger1228
  • Locked
Sight Problem-Hard to See
Replies
23
Views
733
orionengnr
O
I
  • Locked
Glow inc night sights
Replies
10
Views
868
mdauben
mdauben
W
  • Locked
Painting Gun Sights - How To
2
Replies
30
Views
36K
rainbowbob
R
1KPerDay
  • Locked
Painted a few black front sights orange with Testor's modeling paint
2 3
Replies
53
Views
16K
22250Rem
22250Rem
Back
Top