Gunmetal #2a3439

Gray with a blued edge.

RGB

42, 52, 57

HSL

200°, 15%, 19%

CMYK

26, 9, 0, 78

Luminance

0.0324

About Gunmetal

Gunmetal, #2a3439, is dark gray tinted blue-green — the cold sheen of blued steel and cast alloy. Between charcoal and black, it is metal’s color: hard, precise and faintly industrial.

History

Gunmetal was literally an alloy (copper, tin, zinc) cast for cannon and fittings; the color name followed the metal’s dark patina. Automotive and consumer electronics adopted "gunmetal" finishes as the premium alternative to plain gray or silver.

Psychology

Gunmetal reads sleek, tough and modern — gray with muscle. It signals engineering and durability: the finish of tools, gadgets and performance goods.

In design

Gunmetal is a premium dark surface and near-black ink (13.9:1 on white). Superb for tech and automotive UIs wanting cold depth; accent colors read sharp against it. Pair with orange (the machinery spark), silver, cyan and white.

In culture

Gunmetal skies, gunmetal grays in every spec sheet, blued barrels: the alloy that named the color of precision and cold weather alike.

Brands that own gunmetal

Automotive finishes#2a3439 Apple graphite kin#3a3a3c Performance tools#303a3f Tactical gear#272f33 Watch bezels#353c40

Shades of gunmetal

Charcoal Slate Storm Steel Graphite Onyx Payne’s gray Anthracite

Every format

HEX	#2a3439
RGB	rgb(42, 52, 57)
HSL	hsl(200, 15%, 19%)
CMYK	cmyk(26%, 9%, 0%, 78%)
LAB	lab(21.0 -2.8 -4.5)
LCH	lch(21.0 5.4 238.0)
OKLCH	oklch(0.318 0.016 229.5)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2a3439;
background-color: #2a3439;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2a3439] bg-[#2a3439]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2a3439;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.165, green: 0.204, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2a3439")

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

#2a3439 on white: 12.74:1

AA ✓ pass · AA-large ✓ · AAA ✓

#2a3439 on black: 1.65:1

AA ✗ fail · AA-large ✗ · AAA ✗

true color

protanopia

deuteranopia

tritanopia

RGB percentages

Red16.5%

Green20.4%

Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan26.3%

Magenta8.8%

Yellow0.0%

Key (black)77.6%

Color previews

#2a3439 text on a black background

contrast 1.65:1

Card sample

#2a3439 text on a white background

contrast 12.74:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #2a3439;

Background color

Panel with #2a3439 background

background-color: #2a3439;

Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #2a3439;

Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(42, 52, 57, 0.45);

Div box shadow

Elevated card

box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(42, 52, 57, 0.45);

Border & gradient

Gradient panel

border: 3px solid #2a3439;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2a3439, #2A2A39);

Monochromatic scale

#1A2023 #38464C #566B76 #78909C #A1B2BA #CAD3D8 #E7ECEE

Palettes built from #2a3439

UI palette

Gradient stops

Accent trio

Warm–cool bridge

Shades — darker

#262F33 #222A2E #1D2428 #191F22 #151A1C #111517 #0D1011 #080A0B #060809

Tints — lighter

#3B4A51 #4D5F68 #5E7580 #718A96 #899DA8 #A0B1B9 #B8C4CB #D0D8DC #E7EBEE

Hue & tone neighbors

#2A3939 #2A3639 #2A3139 #2A2F39 #404F56 #14191C #203743 #313131

Color harmonies

Complement

Split-complement

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic

Nearest named colors

darkslategray · ΔE 13.6 black · ΔE 21.7 gray · ΔE 33.0 teal · ΔE 37.9 steelblue · ΔE 41.9

Gunmetal, answered

What is the hex code for gunmetal?

Gunmetal is #2a3439 — a blue-green-tinted dark gray, near-black in effect.

Gunmetal vs charcoal?

Charcoal is a warmer neutral dark; gunmetal is cooler and metallic, with a blued edge — the machined version.

What pairs with gunmetal?

Orange and cyan for machinery-spark accents, silver for tonal metallics, white for crisp contrast.

Work with #2a3439 in the Color Lab

Contrast Checker →Palette Generator →Palette Pro →Scale Generator →CSS Code Generator →Color Blind Simulator →Accessibility Checker →Color Distance →