OK, the barrel shroud. Yep... I blued it with Van's cold blue and it was a rather dark gray color and doesn't quite match the metalwork on the B26-2. Don't think the issue is the Van's so much as just each cold blue giving a different result with each alloy. It was completely uniform in color. In an attempt to get it both blacker and a bit more "steel blue", I burnished some Birchwood Casey Permablue paste into the piece. This colored it almost exactly as below. After drying the piece, I wiped it down again with another coat of Van's on a gray Scotchbrite pad. Again, it blended seamlessly. Next, I rinsed the shroud in cold, then hot water.
Once dry, it was slathered with Rig grease. Rig grease came out on top of Brownell's corrosion protection test a few years ago. I coat all the metalwork on my airguns with it.
The sleeve--after fluting--weighs in at just over 12 oz. Three quarters of a pound.
After installation, point of impact changed roughly 0.750" low at 33 feet.
The gun is noticeably muzzle heavy and I like it.
Not sure what's next. But check back soon.