Painted a few black front sights orange with Testor's modeling paint

[1KPerDay]

This is a common suggestion to improve visibility and contrast on plain black iron sighted pistols. I tried it on a Para-Ordnance P14-45 Limited, S&W Model 28, RIA GI 1911, and S&W Model 10.

degreased with q-tips and then applied paint to the front sights and managed to not get it all over the guns. I used "tangerine" because it was the closest thing to neon orange I could find at the hobby store. It is gloss paint but on the serrated ramped revolver sights it doesn't seem to be an issue, and on the others I dabbed at the sheen with my finger while it was still a bit tacky and it dulled the shine.

It definitely increases visibility but MAY reduce absolute definition and accuracy for serious target work. The front sights are definitely easier to pick out but they will take some getting used to. I'm used to fiberoptic sights which still have a black defined edge around the FO rod to center the sight properly, whereas painting them just leaves a bright orange edge rather than black.

If it turns out not to be preferable, you can remove the paint with fingernail polish remover.

Video with closeups for any interested. Photobucket is not working (surprise) so pics will come later.

 

[GBExpat]

It is better to first paint them white before adding the color top-coat.

I like to use fingernail polish for the task.

 

[1KPerDay]

that makes more sense (white base coat). I'll try that next time.

 

[1911 guy]

I second the nail polish treatment. In fact, I don't use paint at all, simply touch up the polish once in a while from my wife's collection of colors. White usually gets the nod on my carry guns. I find your opinion of it for target work to be the same as my own. Crisp black is best. But for a carry gun or HD gun, something to draw the eye to the front sight is very useful.

 

[ThomasT]

I always use white as a base as suggested earlier. I used to use fluorescent orange but the last few sights I have painted I have used fluorescent lime green and boy does that pop out.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I use Testor's flat white enamel, usually two coats, then a coat of Testor's fluorescent orange. Works really well for dark sight pictures.

 

[Malamute]

The "red ramp" sights on many S&W guns, the 29s in particular got me liking the colored front sights. Black, or worn blued sights tend to want to disappear in dusky light, the bright orange can be seen much longer and under more conditions, more so than FO as well. Ive used the bright orange fingernail polish with white undercoat on most my pistols and Winchester carbine sights. I'm out every night at dusk with the dog. Seeing the sights is good.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It will make sighting easier if you don't paint the whole rear of the front blade. Only paint the portion of the blade that appears in the rear notch when you have the sights aligned...usually the upper third.

To retain front blade definition, don't paint all the way to the top of the blade. Leave the top serration black so there is a shadow box effect above the painted portion

 

[Drail]

I paint a small dot on the center of the front sight (no dots on the rear). If the entire rear of the front sight is blazing orange and you are shooting with a bright sun off to one side of you the glare will cause you to pull your shots to that side. You need to be able to clearly see the sides and top of the front sight very clearly in the rear notch. A small dot will still allow you to see the top and edges of the sight. The biggest problem with coloring your sight is that no one color will work in every circumstance. In low light it may help but in bright light you need to be able to see the top and edges of the sight in the rear notch (for target shooting). Believe it or not studies done by the insurance industry have shown that red is the first color to fade to invisibility as the light level is lowered. That's why fire trucks on airfields are painted lime green or yellow instead of red. For CCW use you need to learn at least the basics of point shooting because they will almost certainly be very close and you're not going to have time to get a perfect sight picture. If you have time, use the sights. If you don't then don't waste time trying. My opinion only.......

 

[Malamute]

If the entire rear of the front sight is blazing orange and you are shooting with a bright sun off to one side of you the glare will cause you to pull your shots to that side.......

I havent ever had that happen.

Perhaps its an eyesight thing? I know many people have problems seeing red dot sights, they turn into a blaze rather than a dot.

On the guns Ive painted the front sight in, if they are small, I paint the entire rear face, if shooting quickly and looking over the sights, it gives more to see and zero in on. If a larger one, mainly the top half or the serrated part.

 

[Deanimator]

It is better to first paint them white before adding the color top-coat.

I like to use fingernail polish for the task.

I've got a white enamel paint marker which I use for the base coat, on top of which I use orange Testor's enamel model paint.

It works very well on dark targets.

One year I did it to the front sight of my Smith 14-2 for my club's double-action revolver league... only to find that they'd switched to man targets with orange bodies....

 

[1KPerDay]

that would be interesting.

 

[9mmepiphany]

That is why I use lime/neon/zombie green.

Green is actually easier for the eye to pick up...if you believe scientific studies...than red/orange, but it does tend to occur more in nature

 

[Haywood]

I paint mine with appliance touchup paint and nail polish .

 

[entropy]

I used jig paint back in the day...flourescent orange.

 

[Merle1]

It is better to first paint them white before adding the color top-coat.

I like to use fingernail polish for the task.

I also use a white base coat - it seems to brighten the top coat.

But I use fluorescent green as a top coat - it works better in dim light - at least for my eyes.

 

[Bang!]

I did that just recently. Think I'll take the paint back off the front sights and try the white base coat.

 

[greenmtnguy]

I also use 1-2 coats of flat white as a base coat, and a bright/flourescent orange or green top coat. I also don't paint the entire serrated ramp, just the top half or so, and leave the very top "serration" or step, unpainted as it help give better definition to the top of the sight when aiming in brighter light

 

[CajunBass]

My wife gets her nails done professionally so she doesn't have a lot of polish around the house. Hence I just picked up a cheap bottle of white and a bottle of orange nail polish at the dollar store. Probably cost about $2.00 for both, maybe three. Should last me the rest of my life.

 

[deadeye dick]

Been painting my sight's for years white. Never thought of red , green, etc' or putting a base coat of white. Welcome to the 20th, er 21st centuary I will strip all my sights and redo the right way. Who says you can't teach a old dog new tricks. Have a happy,

 

[shooter1]

Before the FO sights became available, I painted my front sights with florescent orange model paint. Big improvement over the black for me.
str1

 

[CajunBass]

I used to use "White Out" correction fluid, but I'm not sure they even make that anymore.

 

[GBExpat]

nevermind ...

 

[cc-hangfire]

My wife is embarrassed at my nail polish collection. One bottle each of bright orange, red, bright green, along with white, black, silver & clear. And the clerks have given me a strange look as I've checked out. Picked them up one at a time as I found them for $1 to $1.50 a bottle.

Luckily, this collection should last my lifetime.

 

[kBob]

Wow guys. Welcome to the 1960's! What you are describing became so common that S&W started putting a red plastic insert in their revolver front sights. I had a friend that carefully made little divots in his older Highway Patrol man sights and filled those dots with glow in the dark paint in the late 1970's or so. If you had the S&W revolver with the red plastic front sight insert and the white box out lined rear notch you could go to a fairly fast flash front sight picture "Yep red blob on target and in white box, pull trigger"

Used to know guys back in the day that simply swiped "White out" or "Liquid Paper" on their front sight with the supplied brush......it suddenly occurred to me that many of the younger shooters have no idea what I am talking about! There were little bottles of paint in the common colors of office paper for making corrections with when all we had were steel lettered type writers. If you found a type writer you generally found a bottle of one or the other in the desk drawer the typewriter was closest too.

I used to do something similar with the M-16A1 in that I would cut a sliver of glow in the dark tape (aka Ranger Eyes, we would get sheets of the stuff about index card sized to cut up and sew on the back of hats or cammo bands for helmets to make "eyes" the guy following you could see from a few yards away, after a day of exposer to sun light they were visable almost all night. We also once made a star chart on the ceiling of our barracks room to help teach major constalations and got ragged about it )and place it on the front sight tower vertically facing me and another sliver horizontally below the rear sight on the carrying handle. The rear one was too close to really focus on but in the dark the two formed a sort of interrupted inverted T that allowed one to quickly engage 18x24 inch things out to 25 yards or so with some hope of hitting when there was no where near enough light to see the sights. I did know one guy that carefully painted on fifth of his M-16 A1 front sight red with model paint after he zeroed so he could back off two front sight clicks and see the red or click back up and be zeroed again. Also saw Ranger Eye tape stuck on an M60 GPMG front sight and then the sides blackened with Sharpie so only a thin verticle line is left.

Also knew 1911A1 useds that painted a small white stripe just to the fireres side of the teenie tinie front sight on a GI pistol. I claimed it made the front sight more visable in low light and another claimed it gave him a reference while the muzzle was elevated and when he lowered the gun enough the white disappeared it was time to shoot.

Police that were a little gun savy and the general run of "gun nuts" were very much into the sort of front sight painting here described by the OP.