Glow in the dark front sight paint?

If you haven't bought luminous pigments in the last 2 years, you don't know what advances technology has made. Comparing 20 year old GID paint with current is as accurate as comparing 20 year old computers with a current 6 processor Pentium running 4Gh.

Current ones will be bright in the morning. But they won't be bright unless charged ...
 
Glow in the dark night sights

"I hope this is not butting in. I am also interested in this subject.

Gatopardo, or others that may know. How long does the luminescent light stay bright and visible when removed from the light sourse that has charged it? Does it become less effective over time? How about when you are in full light situations, does it reduce the effectiveness of the sights?

Thanks,
James "

The glow-on stuff will work with any light source.
It takes but a few minutes to understand how it works, just like everything else, as soon as you understand the basics you are ready to go, let me give you a few examples.

I've applied the product to my cell phones and remotes, light switches and such and it doesn't matter how early in the morning i wake up before the sun shines, I can find them in the dark, i don't know of anything else that can do this.
Of course early in the morning my vision adapts to the darkness so it is easy to pick up the glow.

I've applied the stuff to my camera buttons, so when I enter lets say a cave or a dark place suddenly, the daylight have charged the glow-on so much, the buttons look like electric little lights. So it eases the transition from daylight to a dark place very well, again nothing else does this.

Lets think guns, If you keep your gun in a drawer all the time, a small flashlight is a good companion for it, mere 5 seconds of this type of light will get you going for a while, assuming you stay in the dark and don't turn the lights on.

For obvious reasons you won't see the glow in the day as regular daylight is brighter, however, the pigment is not transparent but opaque and has reflective capabilities, so is highly visible too.

It is good for ten years, but then again about twenty bucks for a couple of dozen pistols rifle, and such is not bad at all.

Put it all together and you have an idea already here are a couple of shots from some pistols:
An XD40 with sights from glow-on
p1010166a1.jpg

This one is my Kel-Tec PF-9
p1010155.jpg

Springfield armory 1911 A1
sa1911a-1-7.jpg

XD.45acp
p1010179.jpg
 
i actually put some "glow on" on my taurus pt92 because of this thread. it has a tactical light on it but having glow in the dark sights are a nice addition. makes it easier to be accurate at night. but i ran into the problem that most have with glowing sights, it needs to be charged. solution: added some cheap leds to my case. i keep my gun in a drawer when im home so i just leave the leds on a timer so they are on overnight (installed a switch in the back of the case if i need to turn it off quick) you could buy some cheap led Christmas lights, cut/rewire a few and put it on a timer i think that would work. also i dont have kids so its not locked when im home. if you have a locked case/safe that might not be wise to drill a tiny hole in the back.
 
front sight visibility

My carry gun is a S&W J frame. I have "white-out" on the front sight. It's great from the early morning hous until dusk. Y ou can still get it at places like Staples. Once on it's a devil to get off. What sits next to me at night is a Glock 26 with a G19 mag and night sights. These are 5 yrs old and are still fine.
 
A few more thoughts on Glow-in-Dark Paint

It works very well on sites as long as you have the patience to mask the sights properly before applying. A white base coat helps the luminescence. Car touch-up paint works great for this because it comes with the mini-brush.

A quicker alternative are the sight stick-on dots & strips from http://www.nitesiters.com/. They have sticky backing but I always add a tiny drop of the super glue.

Now to tie all this together... A small UV Flashlight.
http://www.amazon.com/LED-Violet-Bl...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1282667104&sr=8-2

One to two seconds with this type of flashlight will charge the sights for about 5 minutes.

BTW, yes - I have done the above with most of my weapons and it does work well for HD & the range, but I would not do it if I needed NS for my job. I'd spend the extra dollars for Tritium.
 
Glow-On

How long does it stay luminescent is the question everyone asks.
When exposed to a small led flashlight for about 3-4 seconds, the luminescence is very bright for a few minutes, then it start fading, almost imperceptible in the presence of light, it real value shows when two things happen: First, there is complete darkness, all the lights are off ( there is always some light pollution present and that is alright). Second our eyes are accustomed to the darkness, which is what happens when we wake up in the middle of the night, say 3:00 a.m. to go pee. Under those circumstances the photo luminescence is seen by our eyes like a faint white glow, we might not see our pistol, but we see the sights.

Now comparing phosphorescent pigment (Glow-On), and tritium is like comparing apples to pears, they are different, just like comparing a red dot to a scope, they are different, none is perfect but yet there is a good use for each one when the opportunity presents itself.

For example, My friends and I find Glow-On super efficient when we compete at the range for two reasons; first we get to customize our sights so the margin of error is minimal, we try to "hug" the front sight as close as we can to achieve this we like to "design" , and apply it around the rear sight notch in a square U shape, we feel we can control the vertical and horizontal vectors, which allows for right groups at 20 yards. This is a bad picture but it''l give you an idea.
P1010358.JPG


Second, a quick flash light ( Thanks Onward Allusion )beam for 3-4 seconds, makes the sights look like electric light which is very useful when all the attention has to be on the sight alignment, to cite an example. Tritium as good as it is, has no place here you see? this doesn't mean Glow-On is better at all, just different.
Does it need a white base? Absolutely not, it holds its own, we apply it on fishing lures,, every bottle is sold with a small dot sample on it so if some of you guys got some you know what I am talking about.

Do I need to mask the sights? There is no reason, it might take a couple of tries, but if I can do it, anyone can. To use the self adhesive you might have to pick a #11 xacto knife and a ruler to work your sights.

What exactly do i get for $13.31 (s&h included) ?

This what everyone get with the basic one vial order:
package.png


I have to emphasize again this is no substitute for anything out there, Glow-On is a Super Phosphorescent pigment, you could even enhance your tritium sights applying Glow-On on the white part, is something we'd like to try yet, you can paint your nails, a fishing shad, put a little on that small flashlight so you can find it in the dark, etc.

How long will the Glow-On be effective? Ten years

Is it good at all for something else? Yes
fishs1.jpg


in any case, this is what Onward Allusion is talking about with the flashlight, since I don't see how anyone can come shooting in the dark without seeing the target.


flash_gun.jpg



Just in case my nails glow too
mannails2small.jpg
 
five minutes

Five minute when it glows like nobody's business, like electric lights, it'll still glow during the night into the morning.
That is what I meant
here on day light, you'll see what i mean, I have some tritium, it'll never glow like this in the presence of light, is a fact.
With tis stuff if you come with your pistol into a garage or barn it'll be so bright, the target acquisition is an afterthought.

SA1911a-1-6.JPG
 
I have tritium sights on a few of my handguns and like them alot. They don't glow like LEDs but they are on all the time and I don't need to charge them. Glow in the dark sights may work if you feel like taking your gun out every night and let it sit by a light for a few minutes before going to bed.

If you just want to take a gun from the safe and put it in your nightstand, leave it in a secure location or use it as a CCW gun that lives in a dark holster under clothing, tritium is best. It may not glow like the paint but its plenty bright to see the sights easily.
 
If you want glow in the dark, or high visibility, try the Hi - Vis company 3 colors of each for $27. Not tritium, must be charged.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top