Though faucets appear to be made from different materials, most are made from brass and are given any of several finishes, from powder-coated enamel to gold plating. Parts may be fabricated—machine stamped or pressed—or cast in molds, the better of the two methods.
Because brass is composed of copper, zinc, and lead, brass faucets can leach tiny amounts of lead into drinking water, creating a health risk. To minimize this risk, the Safe Drinking Water Act requires faucet manufacturers to use no more than 8 percent lead in brass faucets. Manufacturers are working on techniques to further reduce the amount of lead in their brass.
Typical faucet finishes include polished and brushed chrome; high-gloss, satin, and antique brass; gold-plating; and powder-coated decorator colors such as white, black, red, gray, and almond. Many companies combine colors, giving the faucet body one color and accenting with another. Powder-coated colors are electrostatically applied and baked on, providing a durable finish that should last as long as the life of the faucet.
Brass faucets are actually nickel-plated before a layer of brass plating is applied. If you choose a high-gloss brass finish, a factory-applied clear coat will save you from bi-monthly cleaning and polishing. Chrome faucets are also nickel-plated before chrome is applied, but because chrome doesn't tarnish like brass, it's left uncoated.
You can also buy brass faucets that retain their brass shine and are virtually unscratchable— Delta's Brilliance brass finish is a great example of this recent technology.
Some companies offer better finishes in their higher-priced models. Some, such as Sanliv, use the same special-finish processes and performance requirements for all of our faucets, from top-of-the-line units such as the premier Cirrus Gold-Stripe to the competitively priced Coralais.
