Today, Flowyline is going to cover 8 types of metal finishes that pros use regularly, from basic painting to heavy-duty galvanizing. For each one, we'll explain what it actually does, how long it holds up, what you'll pay, and where it makes the most sense to use it.
After reading this, you'll know whether your project needs powder coating for those clean, modern furniture legs, galvanizing for outdoor structures that take weather, or something in between. Let's get into different types of finishes on metal!
8 Types of Metal Finishes Chart (Comparison Table)
| Metal Finish Type | Appearance | Durability (1 — 5) | Maintenance | Best Applications |
Weather Resistance |
| Polished | Mirror-like | 3 | High | Indoor furniture, jewelry | Poor |
| Brushed/ Satin |
Linear texture | 4 | Low | Appliances, furniture legs | Good |
| Powder Coating | Matte/Glossy | 5 | Very Low | Outdoor furniture, railings | Excellent |
| Electroplating | Metallic sheen | 4 | Low-Mid | Hardware, fixtures | Good-Excellent |
| Anodizing | Colored/Natural | 5 | Very Low | Architecture, cookware | Excellent |
| Galvanizing | Matte grey | 5 | Very Low | Structural steel, fences | Excellent |
| Black Oxide | Matte black | 2 | Mid (needs oil) | Tools, firearms | Poor |
| Hammered | Textured | 4 | Low | Gates, railings, garden furniture | Fair-Good |
8 Popular Types of Metal Finishes by Method
Here are 8 popular types of metal finishes for furniture that people regularly use. Appearance matters, obviously, but the real differences come down to how each finish gets applied.
That application method determines durability, what it costs, and how well it holds up to weather or wear.
- Powder coating (durable colored layer)
- Electroplating (metal-on-metal coating)
- Anodizing (thickened oxide layer)
- Galvanizing (zinc coating for rust prevention)
- Painting/Lacquering (budget-friendly color coating)
- Black oxide (thin conversion coating)
- Electroless plating (uniform chemical nickel coating)
- Abrasive blasting (surface preparation and texturing)
Okay, let's dive a bit deeper into each one.
1. Powder Coating (Most Popular, Durable, Customizable colors)
We've watched powder coating take over metal furniture finishing over the past decade, and honestly, it makes sense. The powder bonds to metal with an electrostatic charge, then cures in an oven at 350 to 450°F for about 10 to 20 minutes.
Ultimately, these types of metal finishes hold up for 15 to 20 years outdoors without the chipping and fading you get with liquid paint.
When we're working with clients on our metal table legs, we walk them through the custom finish options.
- Matte gives you that flat, no-shine look.
- Satin lands somewhere in the middle.
- High gloss brings serious reflectivity, almost like a mirror.
Matte black outsells everything else for furniture by a wide margin
Photo: Flowyline
In our experience, matte black outsells everything else for furniture by a wide margin. Fingerprints and everyday wear just vanish against that dark surface. Oil-rubbed bronze brings warmth to spaces that need it. Gunmetal grey fits perfectly with industrial designs. White anchors those clean, minimalist pieces that never go out of style.
We chose powder coating to take over metal furniture legs finishing over the past decade
Credit: Flowyline
Shop now: 307 Tulipe 28" H Industrial Metal Table Base
Although custom color matching adds 2 to 3 weeks to your timeline, it's worth the wait.
- Process: Dry powder electrostatically sprayed, then heat-cured
- Finish options: Matte, glossy, textured (or any color available)
- Thickness: 2 — 5 mils (50 — 125 microns)
- Durability: Excellent chip, scratch, and UV resistance
- Common colors: Matte black, oil-rubbed bronze, gunmetal grey, white
- Pros: Environmentally friendly (no VOCs), durable, uniform coverage, cost-effective for large runs
- Cons: Difficult to touch up, requires professional equipment
- Best for: Outdoor furniture, metal table legs, bicycle frames, appliances, railings
- Cost: Mid-range to affordable/cost-effective
- Lead time: 3 — 10 days
- Maintenance: Easy — soap and water
2. Electroplating/Plating
We love the look of electroplating. Those mirror-bright finishes on bathroom faucets and cabinet hardware have a depth and richness that's hard to beat. The cost is higher, but when you see that chrome shine in person, you'll understand why.
Surface tension of the electroplating bath
Photo: Biolin Scientific
The science behind these types of metal finishes is actually pretty fascinating. Parts sit in a chemical bath full of dissolved metal ions. When people run electricity through the tub, those ions migrate and attach to the metal surface.
Layer by layer, they build up until you get that smooth, reflective coating. It's almost like growing metal onto metal.
- Process: Depositing a thin metal layer using an electric current in a chemical bath
- Common plating metals: Chrome, nickel, zinc, gold, copper, brass
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Thickness:
- Decorative chrome: 0.0001 — 0.0002" (2.5 — 5 microns)
- Nickel: 0.0001 — 0.002" (2.5 — 50 microns)
- Zinc: 0.0002 — 0.001" (5 — 25 microns)
- Gold: 0.000007 — 0.0002" (0.2 — 5 microns)
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Types:
- Chrome plating: Bright, mirror-like, corrosion-resistant
- Nickel plating: Durable undercoat, slight yellow tint
- Zinc plating: Corrosion protection (often followed by chromate conversion)
- Gold/brass plating: Decorative, luxury appearance
- Pros: Excellent corrosion resistance, enhanced conductivity, aesthetic variety
- Cons: Higher cost, environmental concerns with chemical waste
- Best for: Automotive trim, faucets, jewelry, bathroom fixtures, decorative hardware
- Cost: High
- Lead time: 1 — 4 weeks (varies by complexity and volume)
3. Anodizing
Anodizing does something really special with aluminum. Instead of coating the surface with something, it changes the metal itself into this incredibly tough, corrosion-resistant layer.
Furthermore, you can get vibrant colors that won't fade over time. People use this metal finish a lot for architectural aluminum, outdoor furniture, and anything aluminum that needs to look good and take a beating.
You can get vibrant colors that won't fade over time with different types of metal finishes
Photo: Profile Precision Extrusions
The process is electrochemical, which sounds complicated but makes sense once you see it. People immerse aluminum parts in an acid bath, usually sulfuric acid, and run an electric current through them.
This forces the surface to oxidize in a controlled way. What you end up with isn't a coating sitting on top of the metal. It's the metal's own surface, transformed into aluminum oxide.
- Process: Electrochemical process thickening the natural oxide layer on the metal
- Metals: Primarily aluminum, also titanium, magnesium
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Types:
- Type II (Sulfuric Acid): Standard, accepts dyes for color
- Type III (Hard Coat): Extra thick, superior wear resistance
- Color options: Natural (clear/silver), black, bronze, gold, red, blue
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Thickness:
- Type II: 0.00007 — 0.001" (1.8 — 25 microns), typically 0.0002" — 0.0006"
- Type III: 0.001 — 0.003" (25 — 75 microns), typically 0.001" — 0.002"
- Pros: Integral to metal (won't peel), excellent corrosion resistance, scratch-resistant, accepts dye
- Cons: Limited to aluminum/titanium, color fades with UV exposure outdoors
- Best for: Architectural panels, window frames, cookware, aerospace parts, consumer electronics
- Cost: Mid to high
- Maintenance: Very low, integrated into the metal surface
4. Galvanizing
Galvanizing is one of the best heavyweight finishes for metal when steel needs serious protection from corrosion. The staff coats the metal in a thick layer of zinc, and what you get is decades of performance without babying it.
Hot-dip galvanizing means dunking steel or iron parts into molten zinc. We're talking around 840°F.
At that temperature, the zinc doesn't just sit on the surface. It bonds with the steel at a molecular level, creating layers of zinc-iron alloy. These alloy layers end up harder than the steel underneath, which surprised us when we first learned it.
North America’s largest hot-dip galvanizer
Photo: Azz
Say something scratches through to bare metal. With paint, that spot rusts immediately. With galvanizing, the zinc around the scratch corrodes first, sacrificing itself to protect the exposed steel. We call this "cathodic protection", and it's why galvanized steel keeps working even after it's been beaten up.
- Process: Coating steel/iron with zinc for sacrificial corrosion protection
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Types:
- Hot-dip galvanizing: Immersion in molten zinc (thickest coating)
- Electrogalvanizing: Electroplating with zinc (thinner, smoother)
- Appearance: Matte gray with crystalline "spangle" pattern
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Thickness:
- Hot-dip: 1.4 - 3.9 mils minimum (ASTM A123), typically 3.0 - 6.0 mils in practice
- Electro: 0.15 — 1.0 mils
- Pros: Exceptional rust protection, long-lasting (50+ years outdoors), low maintenance, self-healing
- Cons: Limited to one color (gray/silver), cannot be applied to finished products
- Best for: Outdoor structures, guardrails, utility poles, farm equipment, chain-link fences
- Cost: Low to mid
- Lifespan: 50 — 150 years outdoors, depending on the environment
5. Painting/Lacquering
Painting and lacquering allow you to pick any color you want, and if you change your mind next year, you just repaint.
The tradeoff of this types of metal finish is maintenance.
Painted finishes need touch-ups more often than industrial coatings. We won't sugarcoat that. But there's something satisfying about being able to fix a chip or refresh a piece yourself without sending it to a specialty shop.
- Process: Applying liquid paint or clear lacquer
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Types:
- Oil-based paint: Durable, glossy, slower drying (6 — 24 hours)
- Water-based paint: Lower VOCs, easier cleanup, fast-drying (1 — 2 hours)
- Lacquer: Clear protective coating, enhances natural metal color
- Pros: Unlimited color options, easy to apply, affordable, touch-up friendly
- Cons: Chips easily, typically requires primer on metal, less durable than powder coating
- Best for: Interior furniture, art projects, decorative pieces, DIY applications
- Cost: Low
- Lifespan: 2 — 4 years outdoors (requires repainting)
- Maintenance: Requires periodic repainting
6. Black Oxide (Hot Blackening)
Black oxide gives you that deep, matte black finish on steel and iron without adding any thickness to the metal. That matters when you're working with precision parts, tools, or hardware where even a few thousandths of an inch throws off the fit. The look is industrial and sophisticated at the same time.
Black oxide doesn't protect much against rust compared to other types of metal coating
Photo: First Mold
However, black oxide alone doesn't protect much against rust. It needs oil. Regular oiling. And most importantly, black oxide works differently from paint or plating. Instead of laying something on top of the metal, it changes the metal's surface chemistry.
The process converts the outer layer of steel or iron into magnetite (that's Fe₃O₄ if you remember chemistry class). This black oxide layer becomes part of the metal itself, which is why it doesn't add thickness.
- Process: Chemical conversion creates a thin black iron oxide layer
- Appearance: Matte to semi-gloss black
- Thickness: 0.0001 in (~0.5 — 1.0 microns), essentially non-dimensional
- Pros: Non-reflective, maintains dimensional accuracy, minimal cost increase
- Cons: Minimal corrosion protection (requires oil), limited to ferrous metals
- Best for: Tools, firearms, automotive parts, fasteners, industrial components
- Cost: Low
- Requires: Post-treatment with oil, wax, or lacquer for corrosion protection
- Salt spray resistance: 12 — 40+ hours with oil, up to 100 hours with premium sealants
7. Electroless Plating
Electroless plating handles what regular electroplating struggles with: coating complex shapes uniformly. It uses a chemical reaction to deposit nickel-phosphorus alloy, no electricity needed.
This lets us plate inside tight corners, deep holes, intricate geometries — places where standard plating would leave thin or bare spots. The corrosion and wear resistance match or exceed traditional plating.
Of course, these types of metal finishes cost more than standard electroplating. But for precision components needing consistent coating thickness across every surface, electroless plating is sometimes the only method that delivers.
- Process: Chemical (non-electric) deposition of metal coating
- Common coatings: Nickel, copper, gold
- Thickness: 0.0002" — 0.002" typical (0.5 — 50 µm), up to 5 mils commercial
- Deposition rate: 0.3 — 0.8 mil/hr (slower than electroplating)
- Pros: Uniform thickness even in recesses, no electrical contact needed, corrosion-resistant
- Cons: Slower than electroplating, more expensive (higher chemical costs), requires careful bath monitoring
- Best for: Complex shapes with deep recesses, molds and dies, printed circuit boards, valves, oil field equipment, aerospace, and medical components
- Applications: Mining, petroleum, aerospace, automotive, medical, electronics
8. Abrasive Blasting
Abrasive blasting shoots media at metal surfaces to clean them, strip old finishes, or create texture. It's not a protective coating itself, but people use it constantly as prep work before painting, powder coating, or plating.
The surface profile it creates makes coatings stick better. Sometimes they also use blasting to create matte or textured finishes that become the final look.
We use compressed air to shoot abrasive particles at the metal surface
Photo: Shutterstock
- Process: High-pressure air propelling abrasive media against the surface
- Media types: Sand (silica - health hazard, largely discontinued), glass beads, aluminum oxide, steel shot, walnut shells, garnet, crushed glass, plastic, baking soda
- Purpose: Surface preparation, cleaning rust/paint, creating texture/anchor profile
- Results: Matte/satin finish (depending on media), removes contaminants
- Pros: Fast, effective cleaning, prepares surface for coating (creates anchor profile for adhesion)
- Cons: Dusty process (requires containment and PPE), can warp thin materials (due to compressive stress and localized heat), and environmental disposal considerations
- Prevention for thin materials: Use softer media (walnut/plastic), lower pressure (30 — 40 PSI), blast at 30 — 45° angle, keep moving
- Best for: Rust removal, paint stripping, surface prep before coating/plating, creating texture
7 Types of Metal Finishes for Furniture
Furniture metal finishes balance aesthetics with durability. The most popular options include:
- Powder-coated matte black: Modern, hides fingerprints, extremely durable for table legs and frames
- Brushed stainless steel: Contemporary look with parallel grain lines, hides fingerprints better than polished, easy maintenance with soap and water, perfect for kitchen furniture
- Oil-rubbed bronze: Dark bronze with copper highlights, warm aged appearance, "living finish" that develops patina revealing more copper over time, ideal for traditional/industrial/farmhouse styles
- Brass (brushed/unlacquered): Elegant, luxurious, trending in modern interiors (polished brass requires more maintenance)
- Polished brass: High-shine elegant finish, requires regular maintenance to prevent tarnish and fingerprints
- Gunmetal grey powder coat: Sophisticated dark metallic alternative to black, industrial aesthetic, pairs well with wood tones
- Clear-coated raw steel: Shows natural dark grey steel color, industrial aesthetic, sealed finish prevents rust while maintaining raw appearance
FAQs
1. What are the Types of Metal Finishing?
There are 8 common types of metal finishes:
- Powder coating (durable colored layer)
- Electroplating (metal-on-metal coating)
- Anodizing (thickened oxide layer)
- Galvanizing (zinc coating for rust prevention)
- Painting/Lacquering (budget-friendly color coating)
- Black oxide (thin conversion coating)
- Electroless plating (uniform chemical nickel coating)
- Abrasive blasting (surface preparation and texturing)
2. What is the Most Durable Finish for Metal?
Powder coating wins for durability. We apply it as dry powder, then cure it in an oven. That heat-curing process creates a finish that's harder and more uniform than liquid coatings. The bond to the metal is exceptional. That said, it really grabs on during curing in a way paint just doesn't match.
3. What Metal Finishes are in Style?
Right now, we're seeing a lot of custom table legs requests for copper brown, gold stainless steel, and matte black. Whatever finish you pick tends to become a focal point in the room, so it's worth choosing carefully.
Silver fits contemporary spaces well — clean and reflective. Gold brass works better in traditional settings where you want warmth. That said, we've installed matte black steel in traditional homes and brass in modern ones when clients commit to the look. Rules aren't as strict as they used to be.
4. What are the 10 Types of Metals?
The 10 types of metals you'll encounter most often are iron, aluminum, copper, steel, titanium, gold, silver, zinc, lead, and tin.
People typically sort them into groups based on their properties.
- Ferrous metals contain iron, and steel is the big one here.
- Non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminum don't have iron in them, which means they resist rust better.
- Precious metals are gold, silver, and platinum.
- Then you have alloys, which are combinations — brass mixes copper and zinc, bronze combines copper and tin.
Types of Metal Finishes: Which One Will You Choose?
We've powder-coated thousands of metal table legs at Flowyline in pretty much every color you can imagine. What we've learned is that the right metal finish doesn't just change how something looks.
Instead, it determines whether it's still around in 20+ years. No matter if you're fixing up old patio chairs or building custom furniture from scratch, knowing these 8 decorative metal finishes helps you make decisions that actually hold up.
If you're ready to pick some types of metal finishes, take a look at our custom powder-coated metal table bases. Or reach out if you want specific recommendations for what you're working on. We're happy to talk through it.