Might have been luminous paint, the type that glows for a while after being exposed to light; although the Norincos I have seen just had dabs of white enamel which can get stained with age, smoke, and solvents. Not Tritium or Radium nor any other radioactive.

Available on eBay. The good stuff is fairly expensive, the cheap stuff is hardly worth it.
If just colored spots are enough, you can use model paint or touchup paint for appliances or car bodies.

 

Tritium is a gas and comes in vials, as Jim said it might be luminescent paint. I have a few H&K's with those sights and actually they aren't bad except you have to expose them to light to get them to glow for a while, kind of like watches. You can buy it, I'm not sure if you can still buy the radioactive version but maybe at an antique watch repair place.

 

This thread had me thinking, an L.E.D. in the safe could keep that kind of paint charged up. Things I painted with such a paint >50yrs ago, still glow dimly when charged up. A refresh @10yrs and kept lit when not in use oughta keep sight going forever.

 

Amazon has a gazillion offerings for Night Sight Paint.
Many in all of your favorite colors!
The head of a small drill bit turned with your fingers will remove the old stuff.
The “eye” of a needle will accurately place a small drop in the cavity.

 

The best brand that I have found, is the “Glow On“ brand.
Also get the little keychain UV flashlight. A two second exposure to the UV light will have the paint glowing like L.E.D.s and you can see the sights across a low lit room or through a tee shirt in the dark.
It will fade off after a couple of hours but will be dully visible for a long time.
Follow the instructions and seal over the paint with clear nail polishforthe longest lasting results.

 

What you want is the stuff they use on expensive watch dials, 'Super Luminova' if you can get it.

 

Groovy, to say the least..

 

ed. LIFO me. Re-reading, I recalled the "Glow On" suggestion in #6, along with use of a U.V. L.E.D. Definitely want to try that combo. edited accordingly.

"Glow On" / "Super Luminova" and a battery-powered, L.E.D. U.V. / reading light. Those along with my pistol in either my bed-side pistol case, or more portable UrbanCarry "Colonel" holster. Reads as a viable back-up plan when the tritium dies out.

Whether or not it seems funny, I've had stranger-seeming improvisations work. And some comparable improvisations become S.O.P.

 

The Norinco was a quality clone. They came with a chrome barrel and the one I had was extremely accurate, 2 inch groups with ball ammo out of the box. Many of them were scarfed up at bargain prices and the frames were used to build custom guns.

Luminous paint as said requires a light source. Buy it and try it but do not expect it to be anything like tritium. I use it on fishing lures thinking it works better in dark water. Not sure it helps but I put it on lures just the same.

If you paint the sights and want to use the gun as a night stand gun, simply put it next to a lit clock or radio, as long a little light hits it. I have also put it on the bead of my home shotgun. If I have a prowler there may be enough light as I move around, there may not. I keep a light on the shotgun, when the light comes on the gun fires. I use both a handheld flashlight and a little light under the barrel. The one on the barrel provides enough light for the luminous sight, but I do not like to turn it on as it tells the bad guy where I am, right behind that light, an old cop thing with me, we carried the light about 2 -3 away from the body. LOL

For the Norinco which is a 1911 clone, the best shooting option for night work is the laser that is inside the right hand grip, they are not cheap but they work very well. I have a rail mounted one on a 1911-22 that I have used to shoot several skunks in the dark. Flashlight in the left hand, the 1911-22 in the other.

 

I stopped laughing at gun gadgets when they came up with lasers in the grips.

The Glow On stuff I may have to look into.

 

The small LED light is a great idea.
I have a hinged Winchester flat box by the bedside table.
It would be simple to run a single LED with a power supply.
The light would be enclosed and won’t keep me up.

 

I can tell you what NOT to use: Gun Glow. 😑

When exposed to BRIGHT light, it glows great... for almost a minute. Within 5 minutes? Useless.

 

ah ... Thanks.

 

Gentleman, they put this neat thing called an accessory rail on all kinds of pistols nowadays. I have one on my nightstand pistol (Beretta PX4) and on that rail I have a Streamlight TLR4. This little device has a very powerful LED light and a laser. If someone comes in my house at night, a flick of the switch and I can light them up (for identification) and place a red dot where ever I want the bullet to land. All I have to do is check the battery occasionally and it will work every time.

I was always taught to identify my target before firing. If I'm aiming and firing my pistol using a couple of little glow in the dark dots, I'm guessing the lights must be off and I'm just shooting at something in the dark. I read of an old guy that did that once and shot his wife dead because he wasn't awakened when she got up and left the bedroom. Just something to consider when contemplating putting sights on a pistol that glow in the dark so you can shoot ????.

 

Gentleman, they put this neat thing called an accessory rail on all kinds of pistols nowadays. I have one on my nightstand pistol (Beretta PX4) and on that rail I have a Streamlight TLR4. This little device has a very powerful LED light and a laser. If someone comes in my house at night, a flick of the switch and I can light them up (for identification) and place a red dot where ever I want the bullet to land. All I have to do is check the battery occasionally and it will work every time.
...

Seems that I've heard about that somewheres. A belt and suspenders man myself:

Staccato-XC

Recently I got a Staccato-XC. This thread will be to record some thoughts about it. Bottom line at the top: so far, only 120rds in, it seems great! Not for everybody ... If you see no reason to spend >$700 on a pistol, this one could shake your worldview: stear clear. If a m1911-action on...

www.1911forum.com

The Nightstick, soon after this photo, supplanted by a Streamlight TLR-8A ... which, branding aside, photographs about the same; but is better built.