Break out the nail polish
By MARJ LAW
I bet a lot of our readers, guys and gals alike, have more than one 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
Or more than one .380. More than one .45.
My question is: Do you ever put them together in a gun pouch that is capable of holding two guns? Does this same pouch hold many magazines?
So, do you ever wonder if you’ve picked up the correct magazine for your gun?
Most people I know put their magazines in their guns with a gentle pop. Sometimes a firmer push is needed. If you’re putting the wrong magazine in there, pushing it in may jam the mag in the grip.
Say perhaps the magazine does seat all the way in the grip. If it’s not the right one, the rounds will likely have problems feeding. Also, if it’s not the correct one, the magazine might not latch, and it will slide right back out of the grip!
You gotta know which magazine goes with which gun.
Some guns have swappable magazines.
Take the Heckler and Koch P30L, the VP9 and the VP9 Match guns for example. The P30L is a hammer-fired gun, while the VP9 and VP9 Match are all striker-fired guns. Put these in the same gun case, and what do you know? They all can swap their magazines!
Another example is the Glock 17 and the Glock 19. The Glock 17’s magazines will fit into the Glock 19. However, the Glock 19’s cannot go into the 17 because the 19 has a much shorter magazine.
When you carry two handguns in the same gun pouch, how do you find the right magazines for each? You’re at the gun range and you’re ready to get in some practice. This is not the time to be fiddling around, trying to discover the proper mag.
Many magazines have imprints of the gun logo on their base plates. A Glock, for example, has a big G. Smith & Wesson has an S&W, often with the caliber listed on it.
Some don’t have any logo or lettering.
And they can be difficult to see. After all, you get a black imprint on a black background. That’s pretty hard to see.
This is where breaking out the nail polish comes in handy.
Joe’s favorite nail polish is French White and sometimes he has used neon orange. He likes the neon orange to brighten up front sights, which can also be dark.
Putting nail polish in the grooves of a logo takes a little finesse.
First, make sure you’re working on a surface that can’t be damaged by nail polish remover. My counter top is Corian. It isn’t harmed by polish remover.
Don’t try this on your dining room table, even if you cover the end of the table with cardboard and a shower curtain liner. Trust me. (sigh)
First, make sure you have French White and not just white. White nail polish tends to be translucent, and doesn’t show up very well. French White is almost opaque. Roll the bottle between your hands so the polish is mixed.
Before you start, cut up some soft cotton pieces of T-shirt fabric. Preferably from an old well-worn lintless shirt. I like small squares: about 3 inches by 3 inches. Make several of these pieces. If you don’t use them all now, you can save them for next time.
Tempted to use a paper towel? Don’t do it. You need the smoothness of the cloth so the design or impressions of a paper towel don’t wipe out the detail you want to enhance.
You’ll need to have a bottle of nail polish remover, or acetone in front of you too.
Unscrew the top of the nail polish and the nail polish remover so they are ready when you are.
I usually take the magazine in my left hand (being right-handed) with the base plate facing me.
Next, using my right hand, I dip into the polish. At this point, you don’t have to be fussy. Smear the polish over and beyond the area you want to enhance. Make sure it gets in all the lettering and logo grooves.
You don’t have to wait for the polish to settle any longer than this. Take one of the clean pieces of T-shirt fabric and wipe over the polish. You’ll see the logo, but there will be a white haze around it.
Are you thinking it will appear more distinct without the haze?
That’s what the nail polish remover is for.
Hold another piece of fabric against your index finger and, with your finger tightly pressed against the opening of the polish remover bottle, turn the bottle almost upside-down. This will saturate the cotton on your finger.
Wipe off the haze. Do not push hard onto the base plate because you don’t want to take away the polish that has settled into the logo.
Presto!
Highlighting your magazine bases will help to ensure that you will place the correct magazine into the correct handgun.
You can use any color you like, so long as it is quite opaque. I prefer white to neon orange or any other color because it makes good contrast and is easy to see.
Nail polish isn’t just for nails anymore.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.