Nickel is plated for many reasons. First and foremost, nickel provides a decorative appearance because of its ability to cover imperfections in the basis metal (leveling). Nickel deposits can be made brilliant, and when covered by a thin layer of decorative chromium, will maintain their brilliance even under severe conditions. Satin nickel under bright or dark chromium offers a wide range of decorative appearances. When multi-layers of nickel are applied, excellent corrosion protection can also be achieved. This requires plating two (duplex) or more different kinds of nickel (semi-bright and bright nickel for duplex; high-potential and particle nickel). Nickel deposits also offer more wear resistance than softer metals such as copper or zinc, and thus can be used when wear resistance is needed. Because nickel is magnetic, it can sometimes be plated where the ability to be magnetized is needed.