Hello Aaron,
#77 little different approach with the same idea. Please tell me if you like this more so we can continue working on this.
About
#45 coloring with white background it will not look very good because it will blend with the background. I am using gradient just to imitate silver (shades of gray), but when you gonna print this logo you can choose a metallic colors and they look great on both dark and light backgrounds.
Best Regards
Ivan