Brushed Foil — Brushed Hot Stamping Foil, Colours, Specs & Sourcing

Brushed foil — also called brushed hot stamping foil or brushed metallic foil — is a hot-stamping foil whose colour-lacquer or aluminium layer is micro-embossed with parallel hairline grooves that mimic the look of mechanically brushed metal (think brushed stainless steel, brushed aluminium phone backs, brushed-gold watch dials). The directional grain catches light at a low gloss level (typically 25–45 GU), giving a soft satin metallic finish that is distinct from the mirror finish of standard hot stamping foil. Structurally identical to standard foil — PET carrier, release wax, colour lacquer, aluminium, adhesive — with the brushed pattern added at the embossing step.

All three start from the same metallised PET stack and differ only in the surface finish of the colour-lacquer / aluminium layer. Polished (mirror) foil — gloss 80–100 GU, full reflectivity, the classic shiny gold or silver. Matt foil — gloss 5–15 GU, fully diffuse, no visible grain. Brushed foil — gloss 25–45 GU with a clearly visible directional hairline grain that gives metallic depth without a mirror reflection. Brushed sits between matt and polished and reads as a premium, machined-metal look on electronics, automotive and luxury packaging.

A 12–25 µm PET carrier is coated with release wax and pigmented colour lacquer, then vacuum-metallised with a ~50 nm aluminium layer. A precision-engraved embossing roller carrying the hairline-groove master is then hot-pressed into the foil stack at 110–140 °C and 6–12 bar nip pressure, replicating the brushed pattern at 200–400 lines/mm. A heat-activated adhesive is back-coated and the finished master roll is slit to customer width (200–1,600 mm). Groove pitch, depth and angle are tuned for the four stock visual variants — fine, medium, coarse and crosshatch.

Brushed foil runs on any hot stamping press at 115–145 °C with 0.4–1.0 s dwell — standard settings, but two extra rules apply. First, mount the roll so the brushed grain runs parallel to the stamping direction on the substrate — running cross-grain produces visible chatter. Second, use a polished (non-textured) magnesium or brass die so the die does not flatten the brushed grain on transfer. For multi-up sheetfed work, plate layout must keep all decoration cavities oriented the same way. See the foil stamping guide for full press setup.

Eight stock brushed colours: brushed gold, brushed silver, brushed copper, brushed rose-gold, brushed bronze, brushed champagne, brushed gun-metal black, brushed pearl-white. Four stock grain variants: Fine (300–400 lines/mm — phone-back look), Medium (200–300 lines/mm — appliance look), Coarse (100–200 lines/mm — sheet-metal look), Crosshatch (60° crossed grain — luxury-automotive look). Custom Pantone matching on any grain available with 500 m² MOQ. All eight colours are available in both transferable hot-stamping and self-adhesive sheet formats.

Best on smooth, flat substrates that show the grain cleanly: coated paperboard (SBS / FBB 250–500 gsm), folded cartons, rigid setup boxes, BOPP / PET / PVC films (0.05–0.8 mm), label paper, ABS and PC injection-mould parts. Avoid heavily textured stocks (linen, felt, kraft) — substrate texture overrides the brushed grain and visually muddles the finish. For curved surfaces like cosmetics caps and beverage cans, the matching brushed cold foil delivers full-coverage coating without die limits.

Standard brushed foil rates 4–5 on the Blue Wool lightfastness scale and survives 12–24 months indoor without visible fade — fine for retail packaging. For electronics nameplates, automotive interior trim and outdoor signage we supply Premium Lightfast brushed foil (BWS 6–7, 3–5 year outdoor life) plus a scratch-resistant top-coat (pencil hardness 2H–3H, ≥ 500 cycles Taber abrasion CS-10 / 500 g). Always specify end-use environment so we ship the right grade.

Stock colours in stock grain variants: 1 roll (~640 mm × 120 m ≈ 77 m²), ship in 5–7 days from Shanghai. Custom Pantone on a stock grain: 500 m² MOQ, 12–15 days plus colour-matching fee. Custom grain pitch or proprietary brushed pattern: 1,000 m² MOQ, 25–30 days plus engraving tool fee. Free A4 swatch packs covering all 8 colours × 4 grain variants ship within 5 business days to qualified buyers. We carry safety stock of brushed gold, silver, and rose-gold year-round.