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Power armour is made of both metallic and ceramic materials but do we know how the armour looks before it's painted? Fresh from the forge?

Does it have a silver metallic finish? Something matte ceramic perhaps?

Option C: Coloured all the way through ...

Nope, most likely painted, especially when reclaimed or repurposed.
Since official models often show a dark/black core and shiny or silvery exposed edges, probably that.

It looks like pre-Heresy Deathguard. Famed for not technically having a heraldic colour.

Might’ve been when they were pre-reunification with Mortarion Dusk Raiders though.

According to the old lore the Grey Knights have unpainted (but polished) armor, so I guess gray/metallic.

Sprue Gray. That's my headcanon.

-STS

Unironically the sprue grey thing is legit how unpainted ceramite looks.

A little bit more metallic but there's a short story where a Mechanicum Magos shows another Magos a hall filled with Mk4 armour intended for use by the Traitor Legions in the upcoming Heresy and it's described as such.

 Gert wrote:
Unironically the sprue grey thing is legit how unpainted ceramite looks.

A little bit more metallic but there's a short story where a Mechanicum Magos shows another Magos a hall filled with Mk4 armour intended for use by the Traitor Legions in the upcoming Heresy and it's described as such.

Yep, it's a dullish off-grey which gets silvery-metallic when it's polished. It's describe in several HH short stories, and in Mechanicum as well.

It's a slate/sprue grey. There's an entire delivery of them unpainted in the beginning of Outer Dark.

So, sprue grey with some 'ardcoat is legit?

Oh, dammmn, welcome to some rushed out reinforcements to my Lamenters!!

-STS

Ok, so grey/metallic. Almost sounds like an in-joke from the writers! My idea was the same as Slade's above. Suits of armour delivered straight to an active combat zone without time for painting them.

It does raise the question about chapters with mainly metallic colors. Are they just using polished armour like the GK apparently do?

Grey Knights
Iron Warriors
Astral Claws

I'm sure there are more examples.

I mean, I would argue the Iron Warriors aren't exactly polishing their armour but that would be the rough idea.

Iron Warriors armor can include slight rust as part of the wear and tear, so I would think they put a thin layer of iron or steel over the bare ceramite. Ceramite wouldn't rust on it's own.

Ceramite ain't metallic. It's mate grey. I think in every sm novels we see sentences about it. In HH there is detailed description of unpainted PA in manufactorum on Mars.

It looks like leadbelcher with a wash of nuln oil