Why do my Okay mags look brown underneath the anodizing? I have seen this in many mags that are well worn so I'm not worried, just wondering.
Thanks

You mean under the gray DFL (Dry Film Lubricant) finish?  The anodizing should be gold or silver, and if you have worn through that, it should be raw aluminum colored.  Some mags have a kinda weird copperish color, dunno why, but they are USGIs as far as I can tell.  Anodizing is the layer of Aluminum oxide on top of the aluminum itself; its much harder than regular aluminum and is relatively durable.  This layer is created by running a current through the piece in an acid solution.  The gray stuff is DFL or Permaslik.  

Ghost

The brown is the anodizing. Anodize is a clear chemical conversion process. The brown is a dye added to give a color. Typically just to make processed product easily discernable from unprocessed. The gray topcoat is a dry film (moly) sprayed or dipped on.

If the anodizing is brown, what is the shiny, silver coat directly underneath the DFL and above the brown part. I thought that was the anodizing.

Never heard of such a thing. You sure it's not just the moly worn smooth?

I never thought of that. does the DFL wear to a shiny finish?

I've seen it very smooth, especially after oil gets on it. It's not what I'd call shiny, but next to the slightly rough surface of unworn moly it could be interpreted that way.