Most Popular Cerakote Colors
Black
Simple. Classic. Sleek. Black is a color that will never go out of style. It has always been and still is the most popular Cerakote color. In general, McClusky Arms Cerakote customers get something more interesting than black, but most other customers who get optic cuts or other slide machining get their gun repainted black. More specifically, they get Graphite Black. Cerakote’s Graphite Black (H-146) is a satin black that was created for Crye Precision’s Multicam Black.
FDE
FDE has been popular for more than a decade now and is the most common alternative to black. Some even say that FDE is the new black.
FDE has become a catch-all term for different shades of browns and tans, but Cerakote’s Flat Dark Earth (H-265) is described as a flat, medium dark brown. Many manufacturers have their own shade of “FDE,” but none of them are standardized. For example, there is also MagPul FDE (H-267).
The origins of FDE’s popularity are hard to track down. It has been difficult to determine when FDE became popular, but the first rumblings on gun forums showed up around 2007. Since then, it has consistently been a popular topic of discussion, and many companies including FN, HK, and Springfield released guns in FDE straight from the factory.
O.D. Green
While some believe FDE is the new black, others argue O.D. Green is the new black. “Olive Drab” Green is a color that was used by the military from 1952 to 1989 and has become popular in the civilian gun world in the last twenty years.
Though the military commonly referred to the color as OG or “Olive Green”, the term O.D. Green has been the colloquial name for the color. Like FDE, the name O.D. Green is a common term that is used to describe a range of olive greens.
Cerakote has three O.D. Greens including "H-236 O.D. Green”, “H-232 MagPul O.D. Green”, and “H-240 Mil Spec O.D. Green.”
IR Black
With night vision becoming more popular on the civilian market, IR Black, named by Cerakote Gen II Graphite Black (HIR-146), has also grow in popularity.
Cerakote’s Gen II black reduces the visual and near-infrared signature of the firearm. Using “signature management technology,” IR Black is more difficult to see under night vision.
Released in 2014, this color is designed to meet military reflectivity standards.
Check out their video to see it in action.
