Scratched my rear sight, now what?

[Scratch]

Dear all,

After shooting at the range today, was fooling around with the Swiss Army knife and accidentally scratched the rear sight of my Steyr LP10.

OUCH.

There's a horizontal line on the left side of the rear sight, about 1/3 of the length of the sight. Tried to buff away the scratch with my shirt and to my horror it would not go away. Tried to flip the rear sight plate to the other side but the screws wouldn't budge, and I'm not sure it would work anyway.

How can I fix this? Yes, I know I am an idiot for putting the knife so close to the gun, and yes, it won't happen again!

[A74BEDLM]

Buy some "Sight Black" its a spray. Will darken the sights and should cover the scratch no problem

[Scratch]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think I have that in my area, guns aren't a big thing around here.

Any commercial off-the-shelf solutions non-specific to guns / homebrew solutions?

[A74BEDLM]

Could try http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-S ... B0002IKBEA Amazon is worldwide.

Failing that alternatives are;
Carbide Lamp or

"There are various "Sight Black" sprays on the market, and I'm assuming you just use a brief shot of it on the sight. An old (and cheap) trick is to simply use a lighter or a match, and hold the flame on the sight for a few seconds. Since the sight is metal, it won't be damaged, but the flame deposits a thin layer of soot.

The idea is to get a nice, flat black surface, which makes the sight stand out more against the target." from another shooting website

[Tom Amlie]

You could also try to hold a match or a candle or some other flame source under a spoon (inverted). The flame should produce some soot on the spoon, which you can then dab onto the scratch. Some flame sources produce more soot than others, so a little experimentation may be needed.

[luftskytter-]

Screws won't budge?
A wild shot this;
I don't know the gun, but some of those screws holding sights and such things together are sometimes LH twist so maybe.......

[Richard H]

Take a short piece of masking tape twist it and light it It will make a very nice sooty flame and use it to blacken the sight.

[RB6]

Sharpie pen





.

[Richard H]

I've tried sharpies in a pinch but I found it too shiny.

[TomAmlie]

I've tried sharpies in a pinch but I found it too shiny.

Soot is also "reversible"...you can wipe it off easily if you need/want to. With a sharpie or other permanent market you're committed, shiny or no.

[Richard H]

Tom not sure if you quoted me because you think I'm suggesting using a Sharpie. Just to be clear I'm not suggesting to use a Sharpie. The main reasons are;

1. its cheap
2. its plentiful
3. its very black
4. its very flat
5. its easy to remove (got a few shirts to prove that)
6. I've yet to find anything better

Did I mention its very, very flat black!!!

I prefer using carbon from any of the many sources over a Sharpie or even any of the spray on sight applications.

[TomAmlie]

Tom not sure if you quoted me because you think I'm suggesting using a Sharpie.

Nope, I was noting that in addition to your reason for using soot (non-glossy) it is also a reversible treatment. Simply trying to add another reason in addition to the one you mentioned.

[Richard H]

Sounds like you might have the clothing with black marks on it to prove that it's reversible too ;)

[JamesH]

Assuming its made of steel use Birchwood Casey Permablue, its black really.

A tiny smear is all you need. Just wash it off after a few minutes and keep it away from other parts as its acidic - at least it removes skin rapidly.

[38HBWC]

I have carried a plastic Rx bottle with strike anywhere matches in the top drawer of my Gil Hebard shooter's box since '74 just for this task. They work! And yes, be so warned: you will ruin your freshly ironed white dress shirt on Sunday morning!

[Bob-Riegl]

Go to a hobby shop and get a small bottle of Testor's flat black model paint---works quickly and dries fast. "Doc"