[RRoss]

So I guess I am what you could call a "budget shooter." I chose 9mm over .40 partly because it is less expensive. The one thing I haven't skimped on is my SD ammo however (Gold Dot 124gr), but when I decided I wanted night sights for my CCW. After looking at the various Trijicon Night sights available and the cost of them, I realized that it would be a long time before I could afford them. So this marked the beginning of my search for an alternative. After many hours of research and reading hundreds of reviews I found a glow paint made by a company called Glow-On. I ordered it Wednesday and it came in today (Friday). Bottle is 2.3ml and cost about $13 shipped (ouch! but hey it's cheaper than the alternative....but is it worth it?)

First Impressions:
Tiny bottle, but the feel of the paint dab put on the top of the bottle tells me this is quality stuff. You can feel the particles in the dried paint.

In the Dark:
WOW!! Standard Room light (my living room) makes this stuff EXPLODE!!

(the light across the room was still on and it looked like a second light in the room)
Longevity:

After a few minutes in the living room light it lasted 30 minutes in total darkness and was still highly visible (couldn't catch it on my phone camera)

Next I charged the bottle with my Surefire for 10 seconds. The initial glow is incredibly bright with very little noticeable drop off in intensity as you usually see with retail glow paints. After 30 minutes the glow was slightly brighter:

The photo doesn't do it justice.

I will be applying this to mine and my wife's gun sights tonight and will follow up with more info and photos in the next few days.

 

[dutchs]

Please do, It looks like it could be really nice!

 

[dslmac2]

Oh nice. I like Glow-In-The-Dark stuff.
Where did you order the paint from?

I got a permanent glow key chain yesterday.
Called a Key Marker made of Tritum.
Ordered it from Hong Kong.

 

[RRoss]

Oh nice. I like Glow-In-The-Dark stuff.
Where did you order the paint from?

Cool stuff!
http://glow-on.com/gun_sights_paint.html

 

[nukinfuts29]

It doesn't last, doesn't hold up to cleaners, scratches easy from holsters, training, etc. I have never been impressed.

Duracoat makes sight paint and it's much better but not perfect

 

[dslmac2]

I don't think I would use it on my gun, but painting other things like Skelaton Knife handles then wrapping handle with Paracord so it glows through the cord would be cool.

 

[thinkricky]

It doesn't last, doesn't hold up to cleaners, scratches easy from holsters, training, etc. I have never been impressed.

Duracoat makes sight paint and it's much better but not perfect

What kinda sight paint? Pics? That's an idea for me... It's probably not worth sending to get done as opposed to doing it yourself. Right?

 

[nukinfuts29]

What kinda sight paint? Pics? That's an idea for me... It's probably not worth sending to get done as opposed to doing it yourself. Right?

I charge $25 to do it (unless you want the entire gun done, thats more. yes, someone asked before) plus shipping which is $5.

 

[RRoss]

OK, it's been 24 hrs and the paint is fully cured and at full brightness. I applied 2 coats (as directed) and here are the results:
In the light:

and in the Dark:

I think I'll take it!

For the cost vs. the alternative I have to say IMO that this is definitely a viable alternative to the expensive Tritium night sights if your budget does not allow. The product DOES hold a charge for an extended period of time that can be considered useful, however I cannot directly compare it to Tritium night sights because I do not own any. With a 3-4 second charge with a Surefire flashlight, it'll glow quite bright long enough to clear my house 3-4x over, but I wouldn't use them on a hunting rifle.

 

[Dark Knight]

How does it work on a CCW? for instance my CCW would be in my paints covered all the time so how would you charge the paint if you needed to use the gun in the dark in a defensive situation ?

 

[RRoss]

How does it work on a CCW? for instance my CCW would be in my paints covered all the time so how would you charge the paint if you needed to use the gun in the dark in a defensive situation ?

My G26 is my CCW. If I know I'm going to be in a dark environment for an extended period of time, then I'll carry my Surefire in my support side back pocket, this way I just have to hit the sights for a second with the beam to charge them. The glow will hold long enough for most realistic situations to play out. If you get into a close combat situation in the dark, you won't be using your sights anyway, so glow or no glow is irrelivant.

 

[chief203]

I applied this to my G19, G26 and Kel-Tec P3AT. 20 second charge with my LED Polystinger lasts a good solid hour and a half or so of equal brightness to my trijicon sights on my S&W 5946.

On the Glock sights with the U rear and dot front sights, they are still useable for about 2-3 hours. On the Kel-Tec not so much because those sights are hard enough to see in sunlight. Gun design issue, not a Glow-on issue.

Very happy and well worth it. After painting the sights with 2 coats, i finished them with 2 more coats of my wife's Revlon top coat nail polish. Dries tougher than regular clear polish and is chip resistant. It's been a few months and they still look like Day 1.

 

[RRoss]

I applied this to my G19, G26 and Kel-Tec P3AT. 20 second charge with my LED Polystinger lasts a good solid hour and a half or so of equal brightness to my trijicon sights on my S&W 5946.

On the Glock sights with the U rear and dot front sights, they are still useable for about 2-3 hours. On the Kel-Tec not so much because those sights are hard enough to see in sunlight. Gun design issue, not a Glow-on issue.

Very happy and well worth it. After painting the sights with 2 coats, i finished them with 2 more coats of my wife's Revlon top coat nail polish. Dries tougher than regular clear polish and is chip resistant. It's been a few months and they still look like Day 1.

Welcome to the forum Chief203!

 

[chief203]

Thanks.

 

[dutchs]

Welcome chief! Hey, If you can maybe tell us a liitle about Chief203 in the Introduction section. Military? Fire? LEO?

 

[dwcfastrice]

I've used it. The "painted" glock thread has some comparison pictures between this and a product from Glow-inc. Mine has held up to cleaning.

It is a good low cost alternative. BUT, i'd still prefer "real" night sites as I may not have time to charge these sights as I CC. I'm going to get a UV light bulb and charge these for an hour to see how long they last at night. They're nice to have at the range as they glow a bit more and are a bit more visible than the stock sights, but IMHO, nothing beats true night sits.

YMMV
D

 

[chief203]

Welcome chief! Hey, If you can maybe tell us a liitle about Chief203 in the Introduction section. Military? Fire? LEO?

Thanks again. Just intro'd myself. Glad to be here.

 

[chief203]

I've used it. The "painted" glock thread has some comparison pictures between this and a product from Glow-inc. Mine has held up to cleaning.

It is a good low cost alternative. BUT, i'd still prefer "real" night sites as I may not have time to charge these sights as I CC. I'm going to get a UV light bulb and charge these for an hour to see how long they last at night. They're nice to have at the range as they glow a bit more and are a bit more visible than the stock sights, but IMHO, nothing beats true night sits.

YMMV
D

I too prefer real night sights but for the price, this product is a super alternative for me until I can round up enough cash for trijicons. Besides, these didn't even need clearance from the boss lady.

 

[nukinfuts29]

How does it work on a CCW? for instance my CCW would be in my paints covered all the time so how would you charge the paint if you needed to use the gun in the dark in a defensive situation ?

its not an issue. Any type of night sight or glow paint requires only seconds to charge. Even if you keep it under your shirt all day every day it is still going to glow.

 

[dwcfastrice]

its not an issue. Any type of night sight or glow paint requires only seconds to charge. Even if you keep it under your shirt all day every day it is still going to glow.

Correct. It's not going to glow unless it's hit with a few seconds of light. I've tested the this extensively with the glow on paint and the glowinc paint. Heck, even glow on recommends on their web page that you hit the sites with a uv flashlight before use at night.

The only issues I have with this is i don't carry a uv flashlight with me. When seconds count, do I really have the time to grab the gun, grab the flashlight, turn it on, flash the sites, and then point the gun at the target? Personally, I don't.

Is it a good alternative when you can't get night sights (the position I am in now)? Yes. would I trust my life to them? I don't have much of a choice right now, but if I did, I wouldn't.

At least for Nightstand use, I'm getting a little desk lamp and a uv bulb to charge the sites for 30 min or so before I go to bed. Once charged, the paint holds its glow for a few hours. again, I've tested it, but as always, YMMV.

D