What do people use nowadays to "blacken" the rear surface of their steel sights?

First topic message reminder :

I have been reading this article over the past few days:
     https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/2/1/precision-pistol-iron-sights-in-the-sun/

It got me to thinking that my rear sight is "dark", but I wouldn't call it "black".  What do people buy nowadays to color their sights to make them as "black" as possible.

(...or, don't people bother doing this any more?)

WesG wrote:As often as not, for me, losing the sights in the black  is a result of being too lazy or tired to maintain focus on the front. My progressive lenses with a clip-on are a bad combo as well.

Do I understand you correctly?
You have clip-on progressive lenses for both eyes, in a "flip-up" so you can wear them outside of your shooting glasses?

Mike, I like what Cecil says about the glare being the problem and I don't know a better colour to prevent glare as the blackest of black. I finally found the article Zurek wrote in SSUSA :
  

John Zurek: I often shoot iron sights while training with the Free Pistol. Here in Phoenix, our club is situated so that I am shooting south. When I start a training session, normally I have rounds going down range by 8:00 a.m., when the sun is coming up on my left. In that light, my grouping is to the left. As the sun centers overhead, my grouping is centered. When I train in the afternoon, my group moves to the right. (I’m shooting for groups in these sessions, rather than adjusting the sights.) My theory has been that the sun shines on that part of the front sight (left or right) causing a graying effect, which makes the mind move the sights in that direction to make up for the apparent gap.
  I also note that bright light shining on the target gives the appearance of an elongated bullseye, opposite from the sun (sun’s up, sights up). When one is focused on the sights, the “black thing” downrange is blurred to the left or right, due to the sun’s position.


 Mike if you read his first paragraph, what is happening is the glare  (lighter shade of gray) is making the front sight skinnier, so to center it in the notch he's moving the gun left. The same effect will happen when the glare is on the right. Then if at a range without a roof or at some indoor ranges the sun or light could be overhead,when that happens a couple a things could change. If the glare is on top of the front sight  it would make it look shorter and we could tip the muzzle up to level the sight alignment. If the rear sight gets glare on top, it would appear shorter and we could tip the muzzle down to level the sight alignment. Most likely a good reason to blacken both sights. 
 That's my take on it, good luck, It's all in the fun of shooting no matter what you like to do. Stan 

chopper wrote:Mike, I like what Cecil says about the glare being the problem and I don't know a better colour to prevent glare as the blackest of black. I finally found the article Zurek wrote in SSUSA :
  

John Zurek: I often shoot iron sights while training with the Free Pistol. Here in Phoenix, our club is situated so that I am shooting south. When I start a training session, normally I have rounds going down range by 8:00 a.m., when the sun is coming up on my left. In that light, my grouping is to the left. As the sun centers overhead, my grouping is centered. When I train in the afternoon, my group moves to the right. (I’m shooting for groups in these sessions, rather than adjusting the sights.) My theory has been that the sun shines on that part of the front sight (left or right) causing a graying effect, which makes the mind move the sights in that direction to make up for the apparent gap.
  I also note that bright light shining on the target gives the appearance of an elongated bullseye, opposite from the sun (sun’s up, sights up). When one is focused on the sights, the “black thing” downrange is blurred to the left or right, due to the sun’s position.


 Mike if you read his first paragraph, what is happening is the glare  (lighter shade of gray) is making the front sight skinnier, so to center it in the notch he's moving the gun left. The same effect will happen when the glare is on the right. Then if at a range without a roof or at some indoor ranges the sun or light could be overhead,when that happens a couple a things could change. If the glare is on top of the front sight  it would make it look shorter and we could tip the muzzle up to level the sight alignment. If the rear sight gets glare on top, it would appear shorter and we could tip the muzzle down to level the sight alignment. Most likely a good reason to blacken both sights. 
 That's my take on it, good luck, It's all in the fun of shooting no matter what you like to do. Stan 

Having read what you just posted twice, from top to bottom, the words that I highlighted in bold font hit me like a bolt of lightning.  The sunlight hitting the sight (from left, top, or right) makes the sunny side of the sight less visible, making the sight appear skinnier or shorter, for which the shooter compensates by the sights whichever way is needed until the shooter thinks he or she "sees" the expected sight picture.

One of two things is true - either I am more "dense" than I thought, or you have an impressive way of using your words to describe things which makes the meaning of what you're describing seem "obvious".

Thank you!  You would be a very effective writer or teacher.

Mike, it takes me a while to figure things out, Cecil Rhodes and Ed Hall really can explain things good. Wished I had them for personal mentors, we are lucky to have all these great shooters "at our finger tips". I do have a fellow shooter that's a HM Paul that I ask a question now and then, he answers with questions sometimes. That's to get me to find a way to do a little thinking myself, it helps too. You know, I would still be puzzled about this subject if I didn't read that clip by John Zurek.
 Stan

mikemyers wrote:Do I understand you correctly?
You have clip-on progressive lenses for both eyes, in a "flip-up" so you can wear them outside of your shooting glasses?

Sorry, they're CC magnifiers over my regular glasses. Those are my shooting glasses for pistol. Rifle, I generally use Champion.

Grrr ... I typed a ton on my phone and lost it during send. So ... short version I guess.

I'm right handed, right eye dominant. I shoot pistol left handed due to tremors. I cant the gun and use my right eye with a dot ok. That's ugly with irons. Blank wall drills showed me my line of sight was to the corner of the lens, and that was distorting it. I couldn't get a sharp front sight at all. So I started using my left eye with scotch tape on the right lens of the clip-on. Mucho better. And tape on my progressives with a dot. No more cant. Eventually I'll set up an extra set of Champions for pistol. And get another set of grips for my free pistol without offset

Last couple times out with a rifle, RH, RE, I'm getting ghost images if I leave the blinder on my left eye up to use the spotting scope. Really struggling to get a crisp front sight. Like my right eye isn't as dominant as it used to be. Or I screwed it up rubbing it. Had a problem with my left several years ago.

I have a couple friends that don't have a clearly dominant eye, and now I think I know what they're struggling with.

(1) Like I said.

Even a little side glare can throw off our perception of exactly where the front sight is in the the rear notch.  

(2) Everyone should find and read just about everything Norman has written or writes about eyesight and shooting.  Start here:
https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongarts.html

CR

Wes, I too use a flip down clipon for.my iron sights But I use a set of single vision lense glasses.. Much better than progressives. Clearer. Progressives suck for me shooting anything. Get an inexpensive set online from Zenni.

Just what works for me

For years I used one of my miners carbide lamps for blackening sights. I've even used a Bic lighter to ignite Styrofoam cup. Makes good quality "smoke"! 

Black sights matter!

Smiles,

jjfitch wrote:For years I used one of my miners carbide lamps for blackening sights. I've even used a Bic lighter to ignite Styrofoam cup. Makes good quality "smoke"! 

Black sights matter!

Smiles,

I have a carbide sight smoker,  not the rayvin but older, 

works well, 

another trick is a plastic spoon (or fork or knife) and a lighter, 

lite the tip,  it will put out a good bit of soot, and blow out when done, 

spoon will last practically forever,

Like Wobbley, I use burnt masking tape to soot up my iron sights.  I make up several 4-6" "wicks" of folded tape and keep them and a small Bic lighter in a bag in my shooting box to soot up the sights whenever the pistols need them based off the weather forecast for the day.
Little easier to use than a carbide lamp and I don't have to worry about the lamp getting broken rolling around in the box or shooting bag.

Bruce