Gun Paint Planner·Updated September 28, 2026
Rattle Can Chocolate Chip: History, Colors and Paint Jobs on Real Guns
Chocolate chip is the six color US desert camo of Desert Storm, with brown bands and black and white spots that look like cookie dough. Here it is painted with real spray can colors on 12 real guns. Pick yours to open it in the planner, then reroll the layout or paint over it by hand.
Quick answer
- It takes 5 spray cans: Sand, Khaki, Brown, Black, Flat White.
- Spray it light to dark: Sand first, Flat White last.
Cans and spray order from the Krylon and Rust-Oleum color charts, matched in GunPartPicker's paint planner.
Chocolate Chip camo on 12 real guns
Where chocolate chip camo comes from
The Army started working on desert camo in the 1960s, using the American Southwest as its model. The six color pattern came out of that work and entered service in 1981 with the Rapid Deployment Force.
The black and white spots copy pebbles and their shadows on rocky ground. Soldiers named it chocolate chip for what it looks like.
Desert Shield and Desert Storm made it famous in 1990 and 1991. It turned out too contrasty for the flat Gulf sand, and six colors cost a lot to print. The three color desert pattern replaced it in the early 1990s.
Armies from Saudi Arabia to South Korea copied it. On guns it's a retro Gulf War look, rarer than woodland and instantly recognizable.
- In service
- 1981, Rapid Deployment Force
- Famous for
- Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990 to 1991
- Colors
- Six: sand, pale green, two browns, black, white
- Replaced by
- Three color desert, early 1990s
Spray cans for a Chocolate Chip paint job
In spray order, lightest first. Either brand works; do not mix them in one job.
Krylon
- 1Camouflage Sand
- 2Camouflage Khaki
- 3Camouflage Brown
- 4Camouflage Black
- 5COLORmaxx Flat White
Rust-Oleum
- 1Camouflage Sand
- 2Camouflage Khaki
- 3Camouflage Earth Brown
- 4Camouflage Black
- 5Painter's Touch 2X Flat White
Painting chocolate chip camo on a gun
The brown bands are easy: sand base, khaki, then brown in wide wavy bands. The rocks are the signature. Dot them on with a stencil or a fine tip, a white dot with a black dot touching it as its shadow.
Five cans do it: Krylon Sand, Khaki, Brown, Black and Flat White. Keep the rocks in clusters. Spread evenly they look like polka dots.
We'd keep the rocks for last and stop early. You can always add more, and you can't take any off.
How to spray Chocolate Chip on a gun
1. Strip it down
On an AR pull the bolt carrier group and split the upper and lower. On an AK take off the dust cover and bolt carrier. On a Glock take the slide off. Remove the optic or plan to tape it.
2. Degrease everything
Wipe every outside surface with acetone or isopropyl alcohol. Paint will not hold over gun oil.
3. Mask what moves
Plug the chamber and muzzle, tape the ejection port, magazine well, trigger and safety, and cover the optic lenses.
4. Base coat in sand
Two light coats over the whole gun, 8 to 12 inches away, 10 minutes apart.
5. Lay the chocolate chip pattern
Six color desert: brown bands with black and white rocks. Spray khaki, then brown, then black, then white, light to dark, letting each color flash off before the next.
6. Let it cure
Handle it after an hour but give it a full day before it goes in a case, and a few days before hard use.
More rattle can camo patterns
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called chocolate chip camo?
Its black and white rock spots over brown bands look like chocolate chip cookie dough. The official name is the six color desert pattern.
When did the US stop using chocolate chip camo?
The three color desert pattern was approved in October 1990 and replaced it across the services in the early 1990s.
What spray paint do you need for a Chocolate Chip paint job?
5 cans of Krylon, sprayed in this order: Sand, Khaki, Brown, Black, Flat White. Rust-Oleum has a match for every color.
Can you paint Chocolate Chip camo on a real gun?
Yes. Strip and degrease the gun, mask the bore, chamber and anything that moves, lay the lightest color first and build the look light to dark with tape and stencils. Plan on an afternoon plus a day to cure.
Cite this tool: GunPartPicker, “Rattle Can Chocolate Chip: History, Colors and Paint Jobs on Real Guns”, https://gunpartpicker.net/gun-paint-planner/camo/chocolate-chip. Paint colors from the Krylon and Rust-Oleum color charts; gun photos credited on each gun's page. Free to cite with attribution.
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