Painting front sight

[schmidty]

I just got a new Smith & Wesson revolver and I am not seeing (pun intended) the usefulness of the dull orange insert in the front sight blade. It just doesn't seem to work for me. I came up with the idea of brightening it when I was thinking about an unrelated topic - fishing with some of my favorite Rooster Tail spinners which are flourescent pink and chartreuse. They show up very well in low light conditions - in the depths of the lake and even as they're being cast through the air. I thought it might be a worthwhile project to get some of the same color flourescent enamel and overpaint the orange portion of the sight blade. I've managed to find two tiny jars of the appropriately colored Testors brand paint for a whopping $1.59 each. Has anyone ever tried this, and are there any obvious problems/risks? I guess I'm asking if it is a good or bad idea?

My long term goal is to eventually replace the standard sight blade with one of the fiber-optics on the market. But since my revolver is so new, I'm not ready to tackle that just yet. I just thought the flourescent paint might be a quick and easy way to improve the sight for my apparently aging eyes. It is certainly easy enough - kind of like putting on nail polish. Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

[contender]

Repainting front sight blades with different colors is a common thing. It's easily changed, and touched up when needed. De-grease, paint carefully, shoot to see if it works for you.

[schmidty]

Thanks for the affirmation. I honestly didn't know it was so common. As of right now, the only issue I can see is that it might wear off quickly from the friction of in-and-out holstering...but that's fixed easily enough with a quick touch up.

[curmudgeon]

For most conditions black on black gives the best sight pix. But a lighter color can definetly help in low light conditions. Hence the flip up ivory bead on fine dbl rifles where a quick snap shot under darker light conditions can align the bbl quicker. Try the paint on type see how it works. Under normal light conditions one only see's black or a darker color.

[schmidty]

Thanks curmudgeon. I was thinking similarly as I typed out the OP. No "one-size-fits-all" sight exists IMHO. That said, I was thinking about what is around me. I live in a hilly, heavily forested part of the US....in summer, everything is deep green, and usually shady...in winter, everything is gray and brown. Given these conditions, I'd hazard a guess that the bright front sight post is my best bet. I'm sure if I lived in the plains or desert, the black on black would be best for that

[curmudgeon]

Schmidty : What works best for you is the answer. However I have hunted around the world under extreme light and weather conditions, I say .the most part its black on black. BUT, that's what works best for me. Years ago I built a front sight for my custom T/C's. It entailed building a front sight about 5/16 wide with a round steel post set in the rear third. Then a piece of green plexi-glass placed into apportion of that 5/16 width that I milled out. Then set the sight and radiused out the rear portion to where the radius made a flat in the steel post. Under low light conditions that post stood out like a neon sign. The gun and sight was featured in a couple of the gun mags of the mid 70's...In don't say I was first but, many of the florescent sights cam e out in the next few years from all sight mfgs. Mine was a prototype for that particular handgun, rifle combo. Never tried to market the sight. For appearance purposes The rear radius was done on a surface grinder. This blended the rear radius into the steel post giving a flat post image. FWIW dept

[bradshaw]

schmidty.... i consider the original S&W M-29 red ramp/white outline arrange to provide the best overall sight picture for woods hunting, Now, with older eyes, I prefer a flat black notch----without the white outline. Steel shooters tried every combination, with nearly all silhouetters sugaring off to black sights. Just as difficult was target color, as on some ranges black were visible for a certain period of time, and invisible at another time. All the early ranges I shot were open; covered firing lines came later. Bright light can play havoc with Point of Impact, the sun usually pulling POI. In late afternoon at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, black sights could flat disappear----along with black sights----against the right side target banks. For the competitor on the line at that time it took a serious investment of visual intent to at once register target and focus sights.

Optical "flare" in bright sun presents a problem with a full florescent front sight. To holding iron sights tight it is imperative to see "edge" of the front sight. (Note: flare is an especial problem with the McGivern round gold bead. If you insist on a gold bead, I suggest you opt for the Call flattened bead.)

Smith & Wesson's Baughman red ramp was a major sighting innovation, viable a half-century later. In making the red ramp, S&W milled a dovetail in the steel ramp, drilled two little holes in the bottom of the dovetail, and melted red/orange plastic in place. S&W offered inserts in red or yellow, as ramp or post. I tried both, taking numerous revolvers to the plant. Took me one winter to vote against yellow, ramp or post, as it washed out against snow.

I would not paint an S&W red ramp. Before that, I would paint the rear sight black; or yellow; or green. Throw a soda can in the air and dry fire at it. See if you can pick up a sight picture. Not that this cures your problem. Just that it may provide an insight.
David Bradshaw

[schmidty]

Wow. Thanks to both of you for the interesting information. Sounds like you've done your homework. I'll seriously consider the above wisdom. I need to get out in different conditions and experiment with the sights. Low visibility is especially prevalent this time of year in my area

[Markbo]

I experimented with a Single Six that has black/black sights as I simply could not see them in the dark of the forest. I found fluorescent green to be the most visible to my eye. I painted the top half of the sight and with just a little experimenting was able to fine tune it so that I could use the bottom of the color strip to hold off at 100 yards. It is definitely NOT pretty, but the squared shape works better than one of the round fire sights for accuracy.

[mike44]

I tried the paint set Brownell's sells. It was more trouble than anything. I then went to the craft store and got the Sharpie Paint stick. It is super easy to use and comes in various colors. It wears good.