I got this .45 a couple weeks ago and knew I wanted to make it like my other M&Ps.
I wanted to make it FDE, Tru-Glo sights and Apex trigger and sear, striker block, etc.

I have been Cerakoting some of my guns in Magpul FDE, but I don't like it as well as the FDE that S&W uses. I called S&W customer service and asked them what color they use, the lady put me on hold for a few minutes, came back and said "it's a medium brown with green tones". Not much help.

I got some sample swatches from NIC Industries, the makers of Cerakote. I ordered about 6 more swatch samples in various shades of tan/brown to add to my collection, and one of them was called "Smith and Wesson Tan". Perfect. Looked like the same that the factory used on my 5 inch MP9.

This morning my .45 was black, like a million other M&Ps, now it is S&W Tan.
As soon as it cooled after baking I took it inside and put the Tru-Glo sights on and the rest of the slide parts, then put the frame back together. It now has an Apex duty carry kit with their FDE polymer trigger.

I ordered some .45 base plates in FDE for my 6 mags from MGW, they should be here in a few days.
Now to take it out and put a few hundred rounds through it.
That might take awhile, as all public lands are still shut down to shooting until we get some more of the Monsoon rains.
I can go "outlaw" and go up a canyon and shoot a few dozen rounds at a time, like I did when I brought the .45 home.
Started getting some rain today, so things are improving !

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U. S. Army Veteran

Nice job. Looking good.

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Regards,
-MrMoose

I can see it now.

Take it to Home Depot, or some other paint store. They'll scan it to detect the color mix.

You: Can you tell me what color this is (hand them your slide)?

Them: Wait just one moment Sir.

<sirens outside>

Nice coloring, Kinda like some post VietNam jungle boots. I gotta ask: Are you happy with the Apex trigger? I have a 45 Shield I smoothed out some, it is not bad but nothing like a N Frame revol. I am tempted to try the Apex knowing that so many things can go wrong with wheel guns.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

The trigger could have less pre travel and be a bit smoother with the Apex, but it smooths out nicely with some use, and has a clean break right off the bat with minimal overtravel.
Much better for sure than the factory triggers on all the full-size M&Ps I've had.

Surprised to hear the trigger on your .45 Shield needed work.
The trigger on my .45 Shield (2016 manufacture) is fantastic the way it came from the factory. Better than the Apex triggers I've put in, and better than my Performance Center Shield.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Nice job. For Cerakoting the slide & frame, how many coats did you settle on each to get the look you wanted?

jrx, the color or the look would be the same whether you do one coat or 100 coats.
The first pass with the spray gun will get 98 % of the coverage, I look it over and I'll see a spot or two where some black is still showing through, so I blast those spots.

Cerakote only adds one thousandth of an inch, so you can do it on all parts and not have clearance issues. On something like the exterior of the gun, you can do several coats if you want, as a thicker build up there won't affect anything.

You just can't do several coats too fast, if you get runs, you have to wipe them off and re sand blast the part.
I was Cerakoting one of my Mini-30s one day and a friend wanted to do the slide of his 1911. He had watched me do guns before, and I lined him out on how to spray.
I was going in and out of the house to put parts in the oven, and when I came back out he had used almost 2 ounces of Cerakote, enough to do a dozen slides. There were runs all over.
Most people can't believe that a light coat (or two) will cover, he kept spraying like he was coating a lawn chair with Krylon.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Thanks. Wasn’t sure how Cerakote worked.

That looks fantastic OP, well done

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Some Might Say.

I got my FDE base plates for the mag today and put them on.
I cleaned the inside of the mag bodies ( 2 mags were new, they came with the gun, the other 4 were slightly used ones I bought off E-Bay ). then sprayed dry -lube inside.

The new base pads were about 1/8" longer than the black ones, the new ones continue the flare that the bottom of the grip has.
The old black ones were marked .45 just like the new ones, but don't blend in as well as the end doesn't reach the grip all the way and goes straight down.

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U. S. Army Veteran

SW 45 (2).jpgDoesn't look quite as good as yours but had a buddy do mine. After seeing yours I am going to have the slide done as well

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Attached Images

SW 45b (2).jpg (54.7 KB, 21 views)

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Is that a gun No a lifesaver

Here is my 9mm with factory Cerakote on top, and the new .45 that I Cerakoted on the bottom.
Only obvious difference is the 4/10" longer barrel on the MP9.

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U. S. Army Veteran