Fixing front sight bluing wear?

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:17 pm

Recently I noticed bluing wear on the front sight of the MKIII Hunter I use. I really don't know how it got there as I am always very careful not to rub my hand against it or bang it on anything -- and I always inform/watch people who use it to make sure they handle it right.
But nevertheless it is there now.

Is there any sort of product that you recommend I use to turn the silver part blue again? I tried a sharpie for a quick fix, but the ink dried shiny and made the sight appear as if it were rounded.

Post by **Bullseye** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:55 pm

Get a tube of Birchwood-Casey Permablue paste. Great for touch ups on sights. You can apply a few coats to get a darker finish. For small jobs I use a cotton swab applicator to apply the paste.

R,
Bullseye

lucam · Post by **lucam** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:06 pm

I second that, great product.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:28 pm

If you saw the finish on the front of the slide on my carry, you guys would cry, but it gets the job done and rides with me every day. It's just like me, looks a little rough but will get the job done for sure.

stork · Post by **stork** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:43 pm

My solution to a shiny front sight only applys for that particular shooting session.

I've tried the carbide/water lamps, which do a fine job, however a 99cent Bic lighter held to the sights gives them a very dark black soot coating that lasts for that shooting session.

Cheap and effective! Gotta love it.

FWIW
Stork

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:52 pm

You guys with the young eyes have got it made, us old guy have had to alter the front sigh to accept a HiViz lite pipe so we can see it and the target too. But it does work, at least for me, wait until you guys get on the far side of 60.

Hope you all make it there.

greener · Post by **greener** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:45 pm

Get a bottle of Testors model paint in a color you like and paint the top of the blade with that. Makes the sight stand out a bit more for old eyes.

I've seen Len's light pipe mod. As I recall, it did darned well.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:00 pm

greener wrote:Get a bottle of Testors model paint in a color you like and paint the top of the blade with that. Makes the sight stand out a bit more for old eyes.

I've seen Len's light pipe mod. As I recall, it did darned well.

Las week at the rang the lite pipe blew off the plastic does not bond well with the JB Weld which does bond really well to the steel front sight blade. Went to the Ace Hardware where I used to work in the service department and got some Super Glue with a special bonder/activator for plastic. Left the JB on the sight and bonded another lite pipe on, looks like it will hold up this time. Got up almost to 40F this afternoon and as I will not carry it unless I know it works, went to the range and ran a couple mags through it. Functions fine, the sight stayed on and the black part of the target got wasted. Back in the pocket and ready to carry, now I know it will work again.

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:31 pm

Stork posted a updated Zippo sight blackening technique. Back in the day many folks, especially in the military, carried these lighters and used them to darken their iron sights. Today the Bic disposable lighter is the more common item and it works all the same.

I have several carbide lamp kits for darkening sights and I can attest that the lamp black soot that these apply are very dark and flat in color. In bright sunshine my iron sights with this soot applied will not reflect any light at all. The only problem is the black is not durable and wears off with the slightest touch. They also make a spray on blackening compound that works pretty well and is a little more durable than the carbide lamp soot.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:53 pm

Thanks for bringing this technique up, Stork and Bullseye. Everyone on this forum is way more resourceful than I am. I never would have thought about doing that. I used this lighter technique last time I went to the range -- I don't need enough stuff to warrant the shipping costs yet

. The range I go to right now is the one that people go to just to make noise, so quite a few people looked at me like I was crazy when I took a flame to the front sight.

Talk about a huge difference in accuracy on my part having a flat black sight made as opposed to a gloss. Last trip to the range I was all over the target this time right in the center. It makes it easier when your front sight looks like a rectangle as oppose to a oval

Out of curiosity: if the iron your using is cold (or any temperature for that matter) could the heat from this technique change the weapons zero?

Again thanks a lot for posting this, big help.

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:48 pm

I didn't invent the technique, I'm just passing on some of the knowledge bestowed upon me many years ago by shooters much wiser than I. They willingly imparted their vast shooting knowledge with the caveat that I had to pass it on to new shooters when it was my time to be the coach. I'm a man of my word and have held myself to that standard for many years.

Applying heat to the front sight will not change your zero. At least not in the sense you meant in the question. You may have a zero change,but because with the black applied the top of the front sight is more prominent. This means that you're not compensating for the reflection off of the top of the blade and actually using the top edge as an aiming point of reference on the target.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:20 pm

The Perma Blue seems to be leaving a glossy finish on the sight. Any suggestions on how to make it a flat finish?

Bud33 · Post by **Bud33** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:29 pm

I'm not sure you can find a bluing solution that is not shiny, so I think I
would rely on the smoking.
When I was competing, I use a 35mm film can with a pin hole in the top and a few raps of electrical tape around the can.
A couple of kernels of carbide, a drop of water, and it made the ideal smoker.
I doubt if you can find a metal film can today and just in case!!! DON'T TRY THIS WITH A PLASTIC CAN.

Post by **Bullseye** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:47 pm

I use a Gunsmoke carbide sight black lamp kit but I bought them many years ago. Another good carbide sight blackener product is the Supersmoker by Ray-Vin http://www.ray-vin.com/

You can also try some of the spray-on sight black products that come in a little aerosol can like Birchwood-Casey sight black.

R,
Bullseye

toyfj40 · Post by **toyfj40** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:21 am

Bud33 wrote:A couple of kernels of carbide, a drop of water, and it made the ideal smoker.

I wanna watch 'Greener' try this...
from a distance WITH my binoculars!!

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Fixing front sight bluing wear?

Fixing front sight bluing wear?

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