Quick Tip: Choose Your Aluma-Hyde Color

In the not-so-distant past, you could get your gun in any color you wanted, as long as that color was black. But as Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant tells us, those days are over. Now, you can have your gun in a wide variety of colors, thanks to Brownells Aluma-Hyde II spray-on gun finish. Caleb rustled up a bunch of Magpul PMAGs, and he applied a different Aluma-Hyde color to each one. He's lined them all up next to each other, so you can compare and see the variations in color and shade. Why all the variations? So you can get the exact color you want on your gun! Check out how close the PMAG in "Magpul Tan" Aluma-Hyde comes to the AR-15 stock in Magpul's version of Flat Dark Earth (FDE). Nice match, eh?

 

REALITY CHECK: You're unlikely to get a perfect color match between plastic manufactured in a particular color and a corresponding Aluma-Hyde. If you really, REALLY want an exact color match, you have to paint the entire gun. That's true with any spray-on gun finish, including Brownells Gun-Kote and Cerakote. In fact, manufacturers have difficulty getting perfect matches between plastic items manufactured at different times due to variations in the dye.

 

Another element that makes a difference in how two finishes look is the amount of sheen. A very flat ("matte") finish will look different from a glossy one, even if they are the same color. Check out the difference between the PMAGs in Matte Black and Semi-Gloss Black Aluma-Hyde. Same color, but they sure look different.

 

Isn't Flat Dark Earth just another name for tan? Au contraire! See the difference when Caleb compares FDE to Desert Tan? But O.D. Green is pretty much the same everywhere, right? Wow, the PMAG finished in O.D. Green Aluma-Hyde is a lot lighter than the Magpul O.D. Green polymer stock!

 

You can get Aluma-Hyde in Standard Parkerizing Gray, as well as Dark Parkerizing Gray. For a proper touch of authenticity, both of them have the hint of green that's common to old Parkerized firearms. Check out the difference when Caleb puts a PMAG in his favorite Wolf Gray next the Park-colored PMAGs. Stainless Steel Gray Aluma-Hyde is even lighter than Wolf Gray.

 

These color variations open up a lot of possibilities for creating unique, often subtle (or not-so-subtle) camo patterns.

 

ATTENTION MAGPUL FANS: If you have an older can of Aluma-Hyde called "Magpul Flat Dark Earth," it's the same color as "Magpul Tan." We just renamed it. Blame it on the Marketing Department!