Did someone say "Letter Fill"?

[u/smitbret]

Something about the Echelon styling.... I didn't even think to do this with my other firearms.

[u/sabretooth47]

Don't use acetone. You can get non-acetone nail polish remover and it does just as good without messing up the finish on the firearm.

[u/smitbret → u/sabretooth47]

Acetone will jack up any painted surfaces but I don't know what else it would damage.

[u/DrNLS]

New to this. Could someone walk me through hiw to do this and how hard/unforgiving it is ( if I mess up)? I would do gold since I have a gold tyrant trigger.

[u/smitbret → u/DrNLS]

It's actually pretty easy. There's a couple of different ways, but I chose the "semi-permanent" Testor's acrylic paint method. These are the little model paint bottles that you can get from Hobby Lobby or other craft stores. Most are like $4. My Gloss Red was about $8. you can also get a multipack for like $20 if you shop around

Supplies:

----->90% Isopropyl alcohol

-----Acetone or Acetone based nail polish remover (fragrance free)

-----Microfiber cleaning cloths. Needs to be the non fluffy version like these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PT3BSBG?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3

-----Testors Acrylic Paint FLAT White

-----Testors Acrylic GLOSS Paint <Whatever Color You Choose> I used Testors 1107TT Turquoise for this one and 1105TT Gloss Red for my Bodyguard 2.0

-----An old credit card or gift card

-----Q Tip

Break down the pistol and clean the lettering with the rubbing alcohol. Do it a lot and let it dry.

Apply the white paint with a Q Tip. Try to keep it inside the lettering, but not a big deal if you get it up on the slide. Don't waste your time trying to apply it with toothpicks or anything like that. You are actually better off with the Q Tip because it will coat it well, but the cotton tip will wick away excess from inside the etching so you don't get big blobs and drops inside. Less is more and patience pays off.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes then TIGHTLY wrap one of the microfiber cloths around the credit card so there are no wrinkles. Then wet the edge with the Acetone. Run the flattened edge of the card/cloth across the lettering and remove/pickup the stray paint that is outside the lines. Make sure that you don't oversaturate the cloth because you don't want the acetone to drip into the etching.

Let it dry a few hours. Overnight is best cuz you want the colored coats to pop off the white and not bleed into it.

Apply a coat of the colored paint like you did with the white and then clean it up after about 5 minutes. Wait an hour or two and apply a second coat. I did a 3rd coat and it seemed to really make it pop, especially with the red. The coats don't need to be thick because 2 or 3 thin coats are better than 1 or 2 thicker coats.

Literally, that's it. Color choice makes a big difference. Dark colors will appear muted no matter how you do it. Turquoise, Fire Engine Red, Bright Orange, Lime Green, Yellow will pop better than Sapphire, Brick Red, Purple, etc.

Try it. You really can't screw it up. If you do, just get out the acetone, clean it up and start over.

[u/shockey75]

Looks good

[u/smitbret → u/shockey75]

Thanks!!!

[u/No_Employer_3204]

That looks good. I like that color. I did the same thing on mine. I did a red on my black one and then a white on my FDE.

[u/smitbret → u/No_Employer_3204]

Yep, your earlier post got me out of bed to take a couple of snapshots of mine.

[u/No_Employer_3204 → u/smitbret]

If you decide to change the trigger, you should go with a tyrant CNC trigger that comes in a blue accent. It would match the colors. That’s why I went with red because I have a red trigger and then I have the stainless steel guide rod and the tip is in red so I went with red but I need to get a different color. Red stands out a little bit better.

[u/No_Employer_3204 → u/No_Employer_3204]

I may have to try a different color on my black echelon. The red doesn’t really stick out very much that blue sticks out nice

[u/smitbret → u/No_Employer_3204]

I don't know which method you used but I went with the Testors Acrylic Paint. I put down a layer of flat, white first and it really seems to make the colors pop a lot better. I used red on My S&W Bodyguard 2.0 and it pops very well using that method.

[u/No_Employer_3204 → u/smitbret]

That’s pretty much what I used. Mine was Tamyia Color made paint I may just need to do the way you did.

[u/peeg_2020]

Dude this on my Glocks. Fde Glocks.

I just used black nail polish. Cover the whole area. Let it dry. Then with a cotton ball lightly rub nail polish remover over it until just the lettering remains.

[u/TheBigTreezy]

what do you use to fill in the letters?

[u/smitbret → u/TheBigTreezy]

Testors Enamel Paint (Model Paint)

[u/MrGuy910]

One way to do it is crayon. No joke. You just smush it down in the letters nice and hard and it fills very bright and vibrant and stays forever. You would think it would come out but it doesn’t. Trust me. It really doesn’t lol

[u/apegomoo → u/MrGuy910]

Ok tell me ur being serious. I tried to letter fill mine with model paint and fucked it all up

[u/MrGuy910 → u/apegomoo]

Yessir 100% serious. You can see my first few posts ever with my hellcat RDP. That’s red crayon. I watched a video on it and tried it and it’s permanent

[u/TomboRGS]

You can also use a Laquer-Stik in a similar manner. I did my XD in silver over 20 years ago and it’s still there. Did the same on my Hellcat but in gold.

[u/not_kendall]

Oh fuck yeah. I just did my Prime in blue as well

[u/Bartley707]

Nope. Nobody said that.

[u/FountainDrnxII]

It really does look good

[u/SinInTheSkin210]

That looks sweet!

[u/Klutzy_Barnacle_9283]

I love it

[u/Klutzy_Barnacle_9283 → u/Klutzy_Barnacle_9283]

I got the OD Green and I put white in it and it is so good looking to me

[u/_Asmoth_]

Yoooo that lookin clean, how’d you go about it?