Thank you for all the positive comments.
I like it!, does the sheen go away?
I have an AR (SBR w/suppressor) that I painted in FDE about two years ago. The sheen has diminished, but has not completely gone away. The lighting conditions that the picture above was taken in probably does not represent the true appearance of the rifle.
Fantastic! Have you done one in camo pattern?.
I've done a few rifles with plain old rattle-can Krylon. Even through they are the "camo" colors and/or "flat" tones, there is still a little bit sheen visible.
This is my favorite so far:
Here is a couple others (just the stocks really):
great job! let us know how it stands up to firing heat and cleaning solvents.
Today after zeroing, I shot a number of VTAC 1-5 Drills to heat the barrel and suppressor up. They smoked quite a bit as expected, and I'm sure it will taper off. The rifle (sans suppressor) will be used this weekend in a carbine class, so it will get a good workout.
The SBR mentioned above is doing pretty good. Although the color on the suppressor has darkened with use, it still looks good and has a few character marks.
Here it is (a YHM Phantom) newly painted:
And then after about 2k rounds, including a carbine class and some informal practice.
Most of the dings at the muzzle end of the suppressor are from scraping and hitting the barricades. I don't think the paint does well with abrasion resistance when hot. Then again this was photographed before Duracoat's recommended full cure time of 3-6 weeks.
I use Hoppe's #9, Prolix, M-Pro 7, and CLP to clean my guns. While I don't scrub the paint with those solvents, I have not had an issue with the paint coming off when exposed to them.