Many people who are doing large renovations or building projects with multiple pieces of the exact same hardware are often surprised to see a slight difference in color or finish when the pieces are unwrapped and placed side by side. The differences in color are usually not enough to be noticeable once the hardware is installed over a wider area as they are when they are in such close proximity.
In fact, in most cases the differences are so slight that no one but the handy man ever notices. But to a perfectionist, once the differentiation is observed, it presents a distraction that soon can lead to overall dissatisfaction with the result of the entire project.
The best way to avoid this is to make sure that all of the hardware is purchased at the same time from the same supplier. But, it doesn’t end there. Make sure that all of the hardware has been manufactured in the same place and at the same time.
Leading manufactures have standards that they comply with to provide consistency to their customers. But, in the manufacturing industry, many factors contribute to the final product. Even with the strictest of quality procedures, a slight variance will occur from the beginning of the manufacturing run to the end.
The quality assurance policy of the manufacturer takes these variances into consideration when testing their product. This allows for a slight difference from what we’d like to think of as perfectly consistent. Making sure that you get the highest quality rating will help you know that your hardware is as close to consistent as possible. The lower the quality assurance rating of a product the more likely that you will notice color inconsistencies.
If a slight difference in color is found in the same manufacturing run, it is only reasonable that the differences in color will be slightly greater from run to run because of outside factors like environmental changes and perhaps different sources of materials. The provider of the raw materials will also have quality standards allowing for deviations that can influence the color from lot to lot.
When it comes to choosing hardware, make sure what you purchase for a project is from the same collection, the same manufacturer and same lot for the best color match and enjoy the way the newly installed hardware enhances your home.