I started looking at these two colors for a gun of mine, and I really preferred the Desert Sand (like this one here) because it's lighter than Desert Tan (this guy here).

So I contacted Cerakote and asked them to ship me a Desert Sand swatch, and here's a picture of what they sent me (labeled "Desert Sand"). I know the two colors are close to each other, but what the hell is going on with the interchangeable use of names? Which freaking color is which? Any Cerakoters on today?

For reference, it's laying on a white envelope.

There is a refinishing section under Armory where a question like this should be posted

Noted, ty.

If there's just a minute difference in colors just go with what you think is best. You can paint two different objects the same color, from the same paint and materials one day apart, and you will be able to see a color difference between the two objects. In short, getting an exact paint color match is a total crapshoot. I've seen different components painted the same day that I could see a slight mismatch on. A friend Cerakotes professionally, and complains about it all the time. For a total color match, paint the whole thing at one time. All paints are (ahem) environmentally sensitive to some degree.