Pro tip: A drop of nail polish remover saved a stuck front sight on a 1911

I was working on an old Colt 1911 from a customer in Tucson, and the front sight was frozen solid, wouldn't budge with a standard pusher. After three tries with penetrating oil and heat, I remembered an old trick and put a single drop of acetone-based nail polish remover on the dovetail base. Let it sit for ten minutes, and the sight tapped right out without any damage. Has anyone else found a good solvent trick for stubborn, old-school parts like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

scott.anthony25d ago

Nice! @tyler_white42, acetone works great for old loctite too.

tyler_white4225d ago

Acetone on a gun sounds wild but hey it worked.