What is PVD Coating & Why Does It Matter?
It sets the mood of a space. But the technology behind that colour is what decides whether it still looks right in ten years.
For premium tapware and hardware, PVD coating has become the benchmark. It produces a harder, more wear-resistant surface than conventional finishing methods, with better colour consistency and a lower environmental impact.
What Is PVD Coating?
PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition. A thin layer of metallic compounds, usually nitrides or carbides, is vaporised in a controlled vacuum and condenses directly onto the product at a molecular level.
The difference is the bond. Paint and standard electroplating sit on top of a surface. A PVD layer integrates with the base material underneath, so it will not chip, peel or flake. The coating is exceptionally thin, very dense, and much harder than the alternatives.
How PVD Performs
PVD is applied to both brass and stainless steel. It hardens either surface significantly, and stainless steel brings its own inherent hardness and corrosion resistance on top of that.
No finish is immune to wear. What separates PVD is the margin. It resists scratching and tarnishing far better than electroplated or painted finishes, particularly on fittings handled every day and exposed to water, soap and cleaning products. That is why it is used across bathroom tapware, showers, sink taps and mixers, cabinet handles, door hardware and outdoor tapware. In normal residential use, a well-maintained PVD fixture should hold its appearance for years. Care is simple: a soft cloth, a non-abrasive cleaner, and no harsh chemicals.
At ABI, durability is tested rather than assumed. Specialised machinery simulates tens of thousands of usage cycles, and abrasive testing tracks how the finish holds up over time. The brief works backwards from the warranty period, then the product is designed to outlast it.
How PVD Compares To Other Finishes
PVD is usually weighed against three alternatives: electroplating, powder coating and paint. Each has its place, but the gap in performance is real.
Electroplating deposits metal through an electrochemical process and is the standard across most tapware and hardware. It can look good, but the coating sits on the surface instead of integrating with it, so scratch resistance is only moderate, and the colour can fade or wear. Powder coating cures a dry powder under heat. It is genuinely durable and well-suited to outdoor furniture and architectural metalwork, though on tapware the range is narrow and it reads matte or solid rather than metallic. Painted finishes offer the widest colour flexibility and the least durability of the three. They chip and fade in wet, high-traffic areas.
PVD holds up across all of those measures: hardness, scratch resistance and colour longevity, while producing a richer metallic depth than any of them.
PVD is also a cleaner process: It produces minimal waste and avoids the harsh chemical baths standard electroplating requires. This is increasingly relevant as specifiers pay closer attention to the environmental footprint of the materials and finishes used in a project.
Colour, Depth, and Character
Because the coating condenses onto the product in a vacuum, PVD finishes carry a depth that is difficult to replicate. Colours read more saturated. Metallic tones have a softness and a dimensional quality rather than an artificial brightness. It shows most in the warmer finishes. Across ABI's range:
Brushed Brass — warm and luminous, without tipping into shiny or decorative.
Antique Aurum — matte and aged, warm and organic, made through a three-step tumbling and PVD process.
Antique Bronze — reddish-brown with warm undertones and subtle surface variation.
Brushed Copper — earthy and radiant, with a vintage character. Also across brushed copper door handles.
Brushed Gunmetal — dark charcoal with fine directional brushing. Precise and architectural. Also across brushed gunmetal sinks.
Why ABI Brought PVD In-House
ABI invested in its own PVD processing. That gives control over every stage, from dust and humidity in the coating environment through to quality checks at each step of production, and it produces more consistent finishes than outsourced processing allows.
It also made finishes previously unavailable possible, including the Antique Collection — Antique Aurum, Antique Bronze, Antique Slate, and Antique Steel. The base material is tumbled first to build an aged, textured surface, then PVD-coated to protect and preserve that character. The result feels discovered rather than manufactured.
Is It Worth Specifying?
In kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor areas, a finish that resists wear and doesn't need early replacement pays back any premium over its lifespan. The most sustainable tapware is the tapware that lasts.
Finish technology may not be the first consideration when specifying a project, but it can make a real difference to how well a product performs and looks over time.