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Posted: 2/4/2007 9:19:46 AM EDT
Hey guys, last time I was shooting I had a bit of an issue with glare/reflection coming off of the inside of the carry handle-
I had heard of 'smoking' your sights to blacken them. Whats up with that, and are there any other techniques that folks know of to make a more permanent non-reflective surface on the inside of the carry handle/sight area. Thanks! And yes, I do know now not to slather oil/CLP into those areas... 
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Posted: 2/4/2007 9:40:44 AM EDT
[#1]
Sir, as a High Power rifle competitor sight "smokers" are quite common in the sport especially among service rifle competitors. There are a variety available, the common denominator being they use carbide and a few drops of water. The most common is a small aluminum bottle and a plastic bottle of water, sold by an outfit called "Gun Smoke". Another popular item is an old style miners lamp, I believe Creedmoor Sports still sells them. The best available, in my humble opinion is sold by Ray Brandes in Florida. I believe his web site is www.rayvinn.com.
Smokers are do not permanently blacken sights, I use mine at the beginning of each match and use Sinclair sight covers to keep the soot from being inadvertantly rubbed off when the rifle is not in use. There are sprays available for the purpose but sprays IMHO are inferior to carbide smoke because they seem to have some glare of thier own. If you want permanent darkening I recommend you seek someone that can do black anodization. HTH, 7zero1. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 9:45:16 AM EDT
[#2]
Yeah. We used to do that when we shot competitively. A small nugget of carbide in a closed container (it looked like an old aluminum film canister) with a flint wheel next to an escape hole on the outside of the canister. Flick the wheel, and the flame would release this sooty smoke. Just wave it under your sights, and instant black. Wiped right off after the comps.
probably got me a bigger CO2 footprint, though, but that's another thread. . . . . |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 12:55:49 PM EDT
[#3]
They were common at NRA PPC matches. The pistols had a big Bo-Mar sight rib with wings on eigher side of the front post. All the cool 'Master' class shooters used the carbide sight smokers so I got one. I am not sure if it did anything to improve my scores but I liked putting a little voodo on my gun before the shooting started. It was just another way to let the Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert underlings know that they were not going to get a trophy.
     
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Posted: 2/4/2007 12:59:55 PM EDT
[#4]
I use some stuff that Birchwood Casey makes called "sight black" that an spray can, it works the same as the others, it kind of a powdery, removable coating. It's very easy to use
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:05:36 PM EDT
[#5]
More of a semi-removable coating... My dad encouraged me to "smoke" the 3 dot sights on one my .45s once with that stuff. It won't come out of the "dots" now, and I happen to like 3 dot sights.  It's probably fine for most all other applications though. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:18:47 PM EDT
[#6]
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:29:28 PM EDT
[#7]
Just wanted to add that the really cool Master class shooters do not use the plastic water dropper thing. They squint like Clint Eastwood, and spit into the carbide chamber.
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:32:01 PM EDT
[#8]
Thanks for posting the photos, HTG.
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:41:51 PM EDT
[#9]
I'll add this for educational purposes.
The calcium carbide and water generates acetylene gas. Acetylene contains two carbon atoms that are connected with a tripple bond. This is different than methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc that has carbon atoms connected with single bonds. Molecules with carbon atoms connected with single bonds burn pretty cleanly in air. Molecules with carbon atoms connected with double or tripple bonds do not complete the combustion process as efficiently in air, and a lot of soot is produced. Burn acetone and benzene, and it is easy to tell which liquid contains multi-bonded carbons. With this knowledge, it is pretty easy to think of other ways to "smoke" your sights. Instead of buying a calcium carbide smoker, you can simply dip a cotton string in some toluene. Acting like a wick, it will produce a lot of sooty smoke. (Toluene is still readily available) OR, you could even use a stryofoam cup. Styrene being similar in structure to toluene and benzene with a lot of double bonded carbons. Just be careful with the burning plastic that you don't burn your house down. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:44:31 PM EDT
[#10]
The very best sight smoker out there is the Ray-Vin. The spray-ons work, but they don't go on evenly. I've been told you can set a plastic spoon from an MRE on fire and the smoke and soot from it will help blacken your sights too, but I don't keep spoons in my kit.
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:44:40 PM EDT
[#11]
You are most welcome. That is a pre-ban 1 kilo can of carbide.  Ten points to the first person who knows what gas is formed when you add water or spit to the carbide rocks. Best Regards, HTG Never mind. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 1:58:19 PM EDT
[#12]
acetylene
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:14:05 PM EDT
[#13]
MRE spoons work very well. 100% removable. It's more of an outdoor thing, though. Bad smells, dripping plastic. On the plus side, it's free. Matches come with it, too. On the minus, besides being a non-indoor project, is you have to be careful which troops you tell about it. Some privates are stupid. I've seen melted plastic dripped on the sights, and seen morons holding the sights in the flame itself. Well, they are already wearing helmets, we just have to keep them from licking the windows in the humvees.  |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:20:32 PM EDT
[#14]
Question answered before it was asked. Five posts above this one. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:22:35 PM EDT
[#15]
The plastic spoons are polystyrene. The same polymer that is in the styrofoam cups I mentioned above. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:24:47 PM EDT
[#16]
Cool. Learnt somethin' new today. 
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:41:12 PM EDT
[#17]
Triple and double bonds... I haven't thought of that stuff since organic chemistry, 15 years ago. The little models were a good learning tool but if you don't use it, you lose a lot of it.
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Posted: 2/4/2007 2:45:23 PM EDT
[#18]
 a wood match works good too... just not nealy as cool/fast |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 5:13:56 PM EDT
[#19]
That's right. The question was answered while I was typing it. That's why I ammended my post with the Nevermind. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 5:18:31 PM EDT
[#20]
That's the one I have from my IHMSA days. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 6:09:32 PM EDT
[#21]
http://www.championshooters.com/sightblack.htm
Sight Black- it's an aerosol spray. It rubs off pretty easy though. The old smudge pots (look like a cannonball with a wick coming out the top) is what the Marine Corps used to use at the rifle range. I think they just had diesel fuel in them but not certain. |
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Posted: 2/4/2007 6:14:35 PM EDT
[#22]
How about good old fashion ultra flat black spraypaint?
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Posted: 2/4/2007 10:43:51 PM EDT
[#23]
Watching Band OF Brothers there was an episode where one was doing the same thing with a zippo...Learn something new everyday..
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