Night Sights

[skylighter]

I am a phosphorescent pigment engineer and a firearms enthusiast. I wrote an article on the benefits, limitations, and correct application of night sights (glow in the dark, photoluminescent, phosphorescent) that I thought some of you might enjoy.

Night Sights

Enjoy it,
Daniel Clark

[astars450]

where can one get these pigments?

[skylighter]

astars450, you can click on the links right in the article to find the products on Amazon. Alternatively, you can go directly www.glowinc.com or www.amazon.com/shops/glowinthedark

Killer Bee, I edited the article to compare tritium. The cost of phosphorescent night sights is approximately $2.38 per firearm compared to the $80 night sights.

[ElDub1950]

I've bought this stuff from them.

If you charge it up in bright light for awhile it will glow for a couple of hours at best, then it's too dim to see.

I did tests using 3 & 4 coats (2 is recommended) on a pure white base. After thorough drying I charged it over 2 hours in bright sunlight then took it to a dark bathroom and started timing. Slightly over 2 hours is all it lasted regardless of how long I left it charging.

So unless your friendly neighborhood burglars schedule their break in so you can be sure the phosphorescent paint is freshly charged, it's worthless.

It's a novelty and the grand kids had fun painting on their bedroom wall. Makes a fun night light but that's about all.

[skylighter]

I think 2 hours is a proper assessment, which is reflected in the article.

The application in the article is considerably brighter than the 3 coats over white application that we previously recommended.

Danny

[BayouBullets]

I use the stuff for night hunting pigs. It works great. I get about 2:30 of useful glow on rifle sights after charging for about 2 minutes with my surefire. You can't see the last 45 minutes of glow unless your eyes are already adjusted to the darkness. Probably the discrepancy between my results and ElDub1950. If you are loathe to use a pistol-mounted light like me, then this app works fine for the middle of the night surprise too. The briefest hit with a strong flashlight will leave it glowing for minutes. If shining lefty and hold pistol with right hand, you would just cross the light beam over your sights for a second while acquiring target. BTW, mine is strontium-doped acrylic, so i thin it with mineral spirits, then combine it with clear enamel.

[XDJYo]

I bought some green glow in the dark paint for the front sight on my Springfield 1911. I was hoping it would help since the outdoor range I go to has covered shooting bays and this causes the pistol & sights to become nothing but silhouettes. Even though I charged the sights with my flashlight for about 30 minutes, I couldn't get more than about 5 minutes of useful glow-time.

So far, in MY individual circumstance, Fiber Optic sights seem to be the best solution.

It was a cheap enough experiment. I still have a green front sight and a full bottle of green glow in the dark paint. Here is a picture of the end results. I initially did both front & rears, but the rears just weren't deep enough to get any sort of glow.

[skylighter]

Just glow in the dark paint doesn't cut it. The proper application in the article will be at least twice as bright assuming you use similar pigments. It would be literally about 40 times brighter than using retail glow in the dark paint.