FWIW, my Colt Officers ACP came from the factory with white dot sights. These work well for me.

After the first magazine I shot through it, the white dot on the front sight had disappeared. I filled in the little dimple with Testors gloss white model paint. A while later the front sight came loose and Colt replaced that under warranty.

Unless the sights have dimples or something similar to hold paint, you might be better off replacing the sights with ones already highlighted. Do you have fixed or adjustable sights?

 

I have no dots. Thought I would give paint a try before purchasing adjustable.

 

I have used fingernail polish on several sights. White, red, yellow, fluorescent green and orange, even glow in the dark. Glow in the dark didn't work as well as I hoped. It needs several coats, even then it doesn't last long and is pale at best. Fluorescents work the best, green stands out well in all light.

 

I have done many times over the past fifty years. Most common, a white dot on the front sight. Normal household white paint, applied with a toothpick if possible. Really drags the eye in. works especially well on handguns.

Tip, once applied wedge the gun somehow (Books work well) so the paint sits flat and level, to resist running and create an even blob as it dries.

 

6 years ago I did sights on my 1911 with "Valspar Duramax" white house paint and it has held up to everything including Hoppes #9 and Butch's bore shine.

 

If I were upgrading factory sights on a handgun, I'd probably go with tritium. Works day and night.

 

I have used red paint from various sources, I have some red jig paint that works OK. Sometimes I have even used a file to thin the sights or widen the rear so I can get a better picture. I Have a fixed sight 38 special where I ended up using JB Weld to raise the sight so it was close to impact point and then painted it red. You do want to prep the surface a bit for it to last. A needle file and serration also works if the sight is not already so. Color depends on your preference.

DEP

 

I'm guessing that the front sight on your 1911 doesn't have a dot, just a curved smooth surface. Just take your time with some model paint or fingernail polish. It can be difficult getting it on evenly but it should help with visibility even if it's not perfect.

 

Have tried several colors and while fine at the range, none ever seemed to work in all light conditions encountered while hunting. To date, green fiber optic front sights have worked best for me.

 

After I got my Ruger MKII sighted in I painted it Testers semi-gloss white and when that was dry painted it dayglow red. The white made the red brighter. HTH

 

Mark, several months ago, we got a pair of Ruger LCP II’s (22 LR). Happy with the little guns except for the sights....merely “bead blasted”, dark blued. I had much difficulty using them in poor light. I got some model airplane/car epoxy paint. I went yellow front and white on the rear.....it really helped me. As a side-note, I’m color blind.....so a different color combo may work better for you!

I believe that it was Tester’s brand as well! memtb

 

Mark, several months ago, we got a pair of Ruger LCP II’s (22 LR). Happy with the little guns except for the sights....merely “bead blasted”, dark blued. I had much difficulty using them in poor light. I got some model airplane/car epoxy paint. I went yellow front and white on the rear.....it really helped me. As a side-note, I’m color blind.....so a different color combo may work better for you!

I believe that it was Tester’s brand as well! memtb

Hi MEMTB, do you use the Ruger 22 as a carry pistol? My wife is a retired trauma nurse and has always said that the 22 gets a bad rap; I was thinking of getting a 22 for carry. Sometimes I feel like a need an assistant to carry these large full capacity pistols. I go with Beretta 92 FS and Kimber Custom II in 45. Mark

 

I also did a fluorescent red over a white stripe on a front ramp sight. You can buy them in felt tipped markers, made for painting sights. Did two coats, worked well.

 

Different colors for different purposes. Target shooters want their sights to be flat black. There are even little flame torches which will apply a fresh coat of flat black carbon soot in a few seconds.

Low light favors fiberoptic fluorescent colors. The little fiberoptic rods collect available light and shunt it out the ends of the rod, toward the shooter.

On the other hand, dayglo orange, like the sights on many stainless S&W revolvers seems to wash out in bright daylight and becomes hard to see. Black works better in those conditions. Unpainted stainless sights are awful.

I find the dayglo green sights to be about the best all around for me. They are also available with tritium inserts for night. Tritium is good for about 10 years. After that, it's too depleted.

I've painted a few sights with nail polish. Many colors available. Testor paints are good too, but nail polish is easier to find. Add as many coats as necessary. Sticks pretty well.

BTW-- Has anyone else noticed that the three dot sight picture shoots into the point of aim when the center dot covers the point of aim? When I'm shooting a 3 dot and I use the post under sight picture, I always hit low. How about you?

 

The first thing that I do is see if I like it painted. For this I use good old typewriter correction fluid. It is easy to remove if you do not like the view. I carry a bottle in my range bag. After I figure out what kind of painting want to use I use model paint.

 

I painted the factory red ramp on my S&W 627 with Testors enamel. You can get the little tiny bottles of it at any Hobby Lobby in the model section. IIRC they have all sorts of fluorescent colors- orange, green, chartreuse, white. I chose fluorescent pink because it shows up so well against many backgrounds and lighting conditions. I developed an appreciation of hot pink when my main fishing lure for many years was a fluorescent pink Rooster Tail. I could see that lure in the murky depths and it looked like a tracer flying through the air when I cast it from the boat. Works great for a CC revolver too

 

Luminous paint.

Old Creek

 

Guys, I am getting a lot of great ideas.

 

About 15 years ago I bought the big set of "Bright Sights" (I think that was the name) paint for my handgun sights and had high hopes it would work. It came with an array of both standard colors, some "glow in the dark" colors and a bottle of pre-paint solvent to prep the surface of the sight to be painted. The paint seemed to make, maybe, two range trips on guns used mostly at the range. For my field carry revolver(s), the paint would barely stay two days in a holstered revolver.
It just wasn't worth it to me to follow the instructions of a 24 hour curing time, and only get 24 hours of carry time before the paint chip popped off like a dried scab.

jd

 

back in the 70s i went into a small mom and pop store and bought a bottle of red nail polish. when i was paying the clerk looked at me funny, i told him i was going to paint a gun sight with it, he said, sure you are,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Now they would just tell you that the color you bought will look nice on you!

 

Some great posts here, some mention colour. While I think black on black has a lot going for it the poster said he wanted to make it easier on his eyes. Some comment on different colours, I suggest trial and error is the best way to figure what works for you, but I always went for white with carry sidearms. Only a small dot with enough of the black to surround it. The dot just sits in the well of the rear sight.

 

My Kimber is black on black. Getting a bit hard to line up. I am thinking that a nice white ramp up front would do the trick. Everyone, these posts have been great for me. why I joined the forum.

 

I keep a bottle of White-out and a Black Marks-A-Lot in my bag.

 

This rather short article by Claude Werner discusses painting snub nose revolver sights...but many of the tricks and tips he gives apply to iron sights on other firearms.

Getting more out of your Snub’s Sights

#wheelgunwednesday If you can’t see the sights on your snub, you can’t use them. While there are some ways gunsmiths can put better sights on a snub, careful application of paint and perhaps Magic …

tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com

 

What colors show up best in order...white, yellow, green, orange, red. White is always king of the hill unless in snow landscapes. But that doesn't mean you have to prefer white. You first want to get any oils off the area to be painted, maybe scuff the surface with some fine grit scratches, to give the paint some texture to hold onto. Put a base coat of white on first, before the other colors, having that white base coat helps the paint appear brighter.

I use the florescent sight paint that Brownels sells, prefer yellow:

KG PRODUCTS SITE KOTE | Brownells

High-pigment sight paints allow the iron sight shooter to add, change or touch-up sight colors in as little as 60 minutes. Greatly improves sight acquisition, shooter focus, and helps shooters tailor their sights for competition, hunting or self d...

www.brownells.com

 

What colors show up best in order...white, yellow, green, orange, red. White is always king of the hill unless in snow landscapes. But that doesn't mean you have to prefer white. You first want to get any oils off the area to be painted, maybe scuff the surface with some fine grit scratches, to give the paint some texture to hold onto. Put a base coat of white on first, before the other colors, having that white base coat helps the paint appear brighter.

I use the florescent sight paint that Brownels sells, prefer yellow:

http://[URL]https://www.brownells.c...plies/sight-scope-installation-tools/sight-insert-kits/site-kote-prod24548.aspx

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The Brownells stuff must be good. I went to the site and every color show out of stock. Stuff being out of stock seems to be my nickname. I see it a lot.

6 years ago I did sights on my 1911 with "Valspar Duramax" white house paint and it has held up to everything including Hoppes #9 and Butch's bore shine.

Who would have thought. My wife likes the smell of Hoppes #9. I threw a paper towel with some into a plastic zip lock with holes under her seat in the truck years ago.

 

Peep Sights everything if not scoped, I like 1/16 beads on tall sights. Mostly Marbles Brass and Ivory but don't hesitate to change depending on the targets.

 

I use the Glow-on paint. Tried it on my Beretta 96. Applied as instructed, several coats to over fill. Dry 24 hrs and slice it flat with a razor. Apply a coat or two of clear nail polish. I lightly sanded it afterwards with 600 grit wet or dry to get rid of the gloss. I ended up removing it from the rear sights, found it too distracting in the dark. You do have to charge it up before use, no big deal, ten seconds with an led works fine. I liked it so much I put it on all my handguns including the redramp on my S&W 629. I used a razor to cut and scrape half the dovetail out, used blue tape for side forms and applied several coats to overfill. Used the red paint on that one which is really flourescent orange at night. I'm using it right now coincidentally to paint brass dumbell eyes for some salmon flies I'm tying up.

 

I was looking at my Beeman air pistol. It is black on black as well. I will be a sight painting fool before this comes to an end. I can see it as a nice thing for lures.

 

I did once try a thin white line on the front ramp. Cant recall if or how well it worked. I do recall it was not an easy job. If I were to do that now, I would paint the whole ramp white, then when dry paint black along the right and left sides. Going to be eaisier to get a clean job.

Just the way I would approach it. Lets keep in mind the idea is to focus on the front sight.

 

I did once try a thin white line on the front ramp. Cant recall if or how well it worked. I do recall it was not an easy job. If I were to do that now, I would paint the whole ramp white, then when dry paint black along the right and left sides. Going to be eaisier to get a clean job.

Just the way I would approach it. Lets keep in mind the idea is to focus on the front sight.

I was thinking of putting some of that blue tape on the sides. If the sides get messy I bet a sharp razor blade would do.

 

I realize this does not answer the question, but I keep my sights black- I use a 6 o’clock hold, and at least for me it makes no sense to have paint on my sights.

 

Ever hunt in a forest of Black Spruce? Our moose like to hang out in them. Your black sights will become invisible. Same with hunting in snow with a white front sight, just disappears...