Front sight soot

Since I'm planning on shooting an iron-sight summer '23, and I sold my old Ray-Vin (carbide) smoker a few years ago, I was curious how an acetylene-free system might work. I found a supplier of premium grade soot (derived from acetylene gas) on eBay: Inoxia Ltd. $20 for 100 grams, which is definitely a lifetime supply. I put a tsp. into a powder spray bottle that I bought on Amazon. Shake it up a bit, hold it upright and squeeze a few times. I then hit it with a few puffs of canned duster air, which did not remove it (second photo). Well,  it's Winter after all...

I've never heard of that, where did you find it.
Stan

hmmmm

Buy Lampblack & Carbonblack at Inoxia Ltd

Roll up a 3" by 3/4" piece of masking tape with the sticky side out. Light it with a flame and smoke several sets of sights. You can thank me later.
If you were to only use a roll to blacken sights you could pass it down to the next generation for a mere .99 cent investment.

I farted around and found that a disposable plastic spoon puts out really good soot. Smell lingers a bit and the wife gets an odd look when she walks into the garage but it works.

https://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-33915-Fishing-Equipment/dp/B01E4MNSYO/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=CjwKCAiAuaKfBhBtEiwAht6H7w-Ej98yR-DG7duEbiX4rspqqF37DI6_I4fB1s1fc_xLju3bxIf4ehoCXEsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=178115657451&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016466&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14624282500056209042&hvtargid=kwd-18108440363&hydadcr=9412_9900305&keywords=birchwood+casey+sight+black&qid=1676210884&sr=8-2

Yeah well I get all the "established" options...my point was to look for something truly different that does not require fire, stink, spoons, masking tape, a large aerosol can, etc. I can put this little thing in my pistol box and re-coat between relays, under windy raining conditions, etc. But hey...there's always a better way...right?

tovaert wrote:Yeah well I get all the "established" options...my point was to look for something truly different that does not require fire, stink, spoons, masking tape, a large aerosol can, etc. I can put this little thing in my pistol box and re-coat between relays, under windy raining conditions, etc. But hey...there's always a better way...right?

 Does your spray bottle work well in any position best?
Stan

chopper wrote:

tovaert wrote:Yeah well I get all the "established" options...my point was to look for something truly different that does not require fire, stink, spoons, masking tape, a large aerosol can, etc. I can put this little thing in my pistol box and re-coat between relays, under windy raining conditions, etc. But hey...there's always a better way...right?

 Does your spray bottle work well in any position best?
Stan

The soot is very fine. I only put a tsp in so it occupies very little volume in the bulb. If I shake it, hold the nozzle upright, then squeeze, you get a nice little puff on the sights. If you try squeezing when it's upside down, then the holes will plug up. There are other powder spray bottles on Amazon...maybe others work better.

Seems like a good idea if it sticks well and does not need constant touch up.
I used a Bic butane lighter on my service rifle sight, very handy.

Double post

wizzer wrote:Seems like a good idea if it sticks well and does not need constant touch up.
I used a Bic butane lighter on my service rifle sight, very handy.

It seems to stick as well as the soot applied by my old RayVin smoker (also for SR). A spray can duster won't remove it, but it's not very scientific.