Difference Between Brushed Nickel and Satin Nickel

The key difference between brushed nickel and satin nickel is the finishing or the appearance of the nickel plating; brushed nickel plating gives a lustrous appearance with a soft and consistent finish in one direction while the satin nickel plating gives a dull appearance if we do not apply lacquer on top. Furthermore, the brushed nickel finish is significantly less expensive than the satin nickel plating.

When we say satin nickel or brushed nickel, we are actually talking about nickel-plated finishes. Nickel is a common metal that is often collected and recycled. Therefore, it is very sustainable. When we are talking about nickel-plating, it means, that we are applying this metal on another substance. People often use the terms brushed nickel and satin nickel interchangeably, though they have different finishes. Let us talk more details on them.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Brushed Nickel
3. What is Satin Nickel
4. Side by Side Comparison – Brushed Nickel vs Satin Nickel in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Brushed Nickel?

Brushed nickel plating is a form of plating that gives a better finish than the other nickel plating processes. This process is significantly less expensive than the other platings. This method uses some tools for the application. We can get the brushed finish using a wire brush or a similar tool. It creates a soft and consistent finish in one direction.

Moreover, we use this wire brush to put small abrasions on the metal via the same direction. This finish can hide water or dirt spots. However, this method reduces the shine of nickel since the small grooves created by the brush catches the light in different ways. But it shines better than the satin finish.

What is Satin Nickel?

Satin nickel is a plating applied on zinc or brass. Although we think of it as a finish, it is not actually a finish. This nickel-application uses an electrolysis method. There, we can apply layers of nickel to the surface we choose.

Moreover, we can apply a low lustre lacquer after the plating in order to increase its durability. Without the lacquer, the surface will look dull after the plating process. However, this plating process is relatively expensive.

What is the Difference Between Brushed Nickel and Satin Nickel?

Brushed nickel plating is a form of plating that gives a better finish than the other nickel plating processes. It gives a lustrous appearance than the products of other forms of nickel plating processes. Moreover, it is significantly less expensive than satin nickel. On the other hand, Satin nickel is a plating applied on zinc or brass. It has a dull appearance if we do not apply a low lustre lacquer after the plating process. In addition to that, it uses electrolysis process and hence, it is more expensive than brushed nickel finishes.

Summary – Brushed Nickel vs Satin Nickel

Both brushed nickel and satin nickel are terms that we use in “finishes”. The difference between brushed nickel and satin nickel is that the brushed nickel plating gives a lustrous appearance with a soft and consistent finish in one direction while the satin nickel plating gives a dull appearance if we do not apply lacquer on top.

Reference:

1. Mogk, Christina. “Brushed Vs. Satin Nickel | Hunker.” Hunker.com, Hunker, 7 Sept. 2011. Available here 
2. “Crystal Lombardo.” Samsung Galaxy Blog, 14 Jan. 2017. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’14439445019′ by Mathew Smith (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2.’Conant Decor Satin Nickel Large Dial Thermometer’By Conant – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia