Choosing a door hardware finish that still looks right in year five

Finish is the first thing a client notices and the first thing that fails. The eleven standard finishes fall into three families, and the family matters more than the colour.

Plated finishes — SN, SC, CP, SS

An electroplated metal layer. Hard, bright and the most durable of the three families: 96 hours of neutral salt spray to ASTM B117. Satin nickel is the safest specification in almost any market. Chrome and satin chrome read cooler and show fingerprints more. Satin stainless is used mainly on pull handles and hinges where the base material is already stainless.

Coated finishes — MB, ORB, WHP

A pigmented coating over a plated base. Matte black is the single most requested finish we make, and the least forgiving: it shows wear at the thumb-turn and along the top of the lever before anything else on the door. Rated to 48 hours salt spray. Beautiful indoors and on sheltered entrances; risky on an unprotected coastal door.

Living brass finishes — PB, AB, AC

Polished brass, antique brass and antique copper are meant to change. They are rated to 24 hours salt spray because they are not trying to be inert — they patinate, and on a heritage project that is the point. Tell the client that in advance and it is a feature; let them discover it and it is a complaint.

What salt spray hours actually tell you

ASTM B117 is a comparative test, not a life expectancy. 96 hours does not mean four days outdoors — it means this finish is more corrosion-resistant than one rated at 48. Use it to rank options, not to predict years.

Three rules that prevent most complaints

1. Match the family, not just the name. Two suppliers’ “matte black” will differ. Order every black item on a door from one supplier and one process.
2. Ask about the coastal case. Within a few kilometres of salt water, specify a plated finish or accept a shorter refresh cycle in writing.
3. Get physical samples. A finish on a screen is a photograph of a lighting setup. We post samples free to trade enquiries.

Care

A soft dry cloth. Nothing else. Solvents, abrasives and acidic bathroom cleaners strip coated finishes and will void the finish warranty faster than any amount of use.