How to Mix Gunmetal in Acrylic

A dark, cool metallic-look grey. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #4A5259 in acrylic, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.

Target

Gunmetal

#4A5259

Mixed result

97% match

From these pigments

#4A5057

Pigment recipe

Ratios calibrated for acrylic. Start with the dominant pigment, add the modifiers in the order below, and adjust in 5% steps to your target swatch.

1. Ultramarine Blue
PB29
56%
2. Titanium White
PW6
39%
3. Ivory Black
PBk9
5%

What colours make Gunmetal?

Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White, and Ivory Black, in roughly a 56:39:5 ratio.

How to make Gunmetal in acrylic

Start with Ultramarine Blue at about 56% as your acrylic base, then work in Titanium White and Ivory Black in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #4A5259.

Why mix Gunmetal instead of buying it

Mixing Gunmetal yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Gunmetal across paint brands whose factory tubes differ, and rebuild the exact colour when you run out mid painting. The recipe above is the working starting point.

Common mistakes

Reaching for more black to deepen it kills the chroma, add the dark modifier already in the recipe instead. White cools and chalks a mix as you add it, so tint in small steps and stop before it goes pastel.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Gunmetal + acrylic pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

Open in mixer

Related mixing guides

Pigment mixing is subtractive, so small ratio changes matter. The mixer refines this recipe to your brand and updates on the fly.