A new article of manufacture, for example a faucet or other article of hardware, has a specified decorative color, and is resistant to corrosion, abrasion and attack by chemicals. The article includes a substrate, one or more corrosion resistant layers applied to the substrate, a thin transition layer having a composition that varies systematically from a first composition to a second composition and in which the first composition has, at least in part, the function of corrosion protection, and in which the second composition determines the visible color or that portion of the substrate to which the transition layer is applied.