I didn't like the stainless look on my Rem 700 5R so I went for a simple armor black cerakote finish on the receiver, barrel, and bolt. It is nothing fancy, but I like the black much better.
The Grey is almost black, and you can't really tell the difference between the color of the grey and the black flutes, unless it's bright sunlight, or in this case the bright flash of the camera.
Yes. If it's applied properly, it doesn't chip or flake off like a lot of paints and coatings do. It wears where parts rub together, there's no getting away from that, but in my (limited) experience, it's probably better than any sort of chemical finish (blueing, parkerizing etc.). It seems to hold up very well and does a much better job of corrosion protection. For a spray-on finish, I'm really impressed.