LOSS OF VISUAL CONTACT WITH PRECEDING ACFT AND THE ARPT DURING A VISUAL APCH.

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I WAS CAPT ON FLT XXX SEP/XX/95 SEA-LAX. WE FLEW THE SADDE 6 ARR INTO LAX LNDG AT APPROX XA00 LCL. WE WERE ASSIGNED; AND WE AGREED; TO FOLLOW ANOTHER ACFT FOR A VISUAL APCH TO THE RWY 24 AND THIS IS WHEN THE TROUBLE STARTED. WE WERE TOLD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER ACFT TO THE ARPT. WE SAID WE SAW THE OTHER ACFT. WE WERE THEN TOLD THAT WE WERE CLRED VISUAL APCH TO RWY 24L. THE ACFT WE WERE FOLLOWING WAS ON AN APCH TO RWY 24R. WE SHOULD HAVE REFUSED THE CLRNC BUT I THOUGHT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PICK UP RWY 24L VISUALLY SHORTLY AFTER WE TURNED TOWARD THE RWY FROM ABOUT 10 MI FROM THE ARPT. WE WERE THEN TOLD THAT WE SHOULD STAY TO THE L OF RWY 24L BECAUSE APCH CTL WAS BRINGING ANOTHER ACFT UP ON OUR R ON A VISUAL TO RWY 24R. THIS WOULD HAVE WORKED OUT IF WE COULD HAVE SEEN THE RWY. FROM 8-10 MI FROM THE ARPT THE ONLY THING WE COULD SEE WAS THE ACFT WE WERE FOLLOWING AND THAT ACFT WAS GOING TO ANOTHER RWY. LAX ON A SUNNY; HAZY DAY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON IS EXTREMELY HARD TO SEE ON A VISUAL APCH BECAUSE OF THE ANGLE OF THE SUN AND THE PARTICLES IN THE AIR. THE TWR VISIBILITY MIGHT BE 7 MI BUT E TO W ON AN APCH VISIBILITY CAN BE AS LOW AS 1-3 MI. THAT WAS OUR PROB. WE WERE POINTED TOWARD THE ARPT BUT COULDN'T SEE THE LNDG RWY. NO WAY WE SHOULD HAVE ACCEPTED FOLLOWING AN ACFT GOING TO ANOTHER WAY. THE COPLT WAS FLYING AND; IN AN ATTEMPT TO GIVE US SOME TRACKING INFO; I DIALED IN THE RWY 24L ILS FREQ. THINGS WERE HAPPENING REAL FAST AT THE TIME; BUT I DON'T THINK THERE WAS AN IDENT. SO; HERE WE ARE HDG FOR A RWY WE CAN'T SEE AND COMPLETELY OUT OF ANY TRACKING INFO; EVEN TO RWY 24R; WHICH WE HAD HAD UNTIL I SWITCHED FREQS. ABOUT THAT TIME THE RWYS CAME INTO VIEW; AROUND 800-1000 FT AGL AND WE MADE A LNDG ON RWY 24L AS DIRECTED. WHEN WE BROKE OUT WE WERE FAR TO THE R OF RWY 24L; ALMOST LINED UP WITH RWY 24R. WE WERE ABLE TO GET BACK TO RWY 24L FOR THE LNDG BUT IT WAS NOT A GOOD OP. MY FEELING ABOUT THIS SIT IS THAT SOCAL APCH SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THE AFTERNOON SUN WILL BLOCK OUT ALMOST ALL ATTEMPTS AT A VISUAL APCH ON THE SADDE 6 ARR. I'M AWARE THAT THIS ARR HAS BEEN FLOWN FOR DECADES DAY AND NIGHT; RAIN OR SHINE; BUT THE CTLRS SEEM TO BE COMING EVEN FASTER AND LOOSER WITH THE VISUAL APCHS. IF A PLT ACCEPTS A VISUAL BASED UPON FOLLOWING ANOTHER ACFT TO THE ARPT; IT IS LIKELY THAT THE ACFT WILL BE LOST VISUALLY AS YOU TURN W EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD A GOOD VIEW OF HIM WHEN HE WENT BY GOING W WHILE YOU WERE STILL DOWNWIND. ALSO; I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S EVEN LEGAL TO CLR AN ACFT FOR A VISUAL BASED UPON FOLLOWING ANOTHER ACFT TO THE ARPT WHEN THAT ACFT IS GOING ANOTHER RWY. EVEN IF IT'S LEGAL IT'S NOT SAFE. I'LL NEVER ACCEPT SUCH A CLRNC AGAIN. LOSING TRACKING INFO AS YOU'RE DSNDING IS NOT A GOOD FEELING. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR WAS VERY CONCERNED THAT HE LET HIS ACFT GET IN SUCH A POS AS TO LOSE CONTACT WITH PRECEDING TFC AND THE ARPT ENVIRONMENT. HE BLAMES HIMSELF AND TRACON FOR SETTING UP THIS TYPE OF APCH. RPTR WAS COUNSELED THAT THE APCH WAS LEGAL ON ALL ACCOUNTS. HOWEVER; WHEN THE ARPT AND TFC DISAPPEAR FROM VIEW; THEN AN ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE MADE THAT HELP IS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN DIRECTION AND SEPARATION. CALL TWR OR TRACON TO INFORM THEM. IF CONTACT CANNOT BE MADE; THEN IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO EXECUTE A MISSED APCH. THIS CAN BE A DIFFICULT DECISION; BUT WHEN IN DOUBT; GET OUT.