Decorative PVD coated items and radomes and methods of making same

A method of manufacturing a physical vapour deposition (PVD) coated system comprising a substrate, the method comprising:

• applying a hard coating to the substrate;
• applying a reflective PVD coating of low optical transmission by magnetron sputtering to the substrate;
• laser etching one or more of a pattern or a graphic into the PVD coating so that the PVD coating is at least partially removed using a laser setting which provides a texture on regions where laser etching is applied;
• and
• applying a translucent but reflective PVD coating by magnetron sputtering so that the pattern or the graphic is visible with a satin appearance, the translucent but reflective PVD coating having a higher optical transmission than the reflective PVD coating.

A method of manufacturing a physical vapour deposition (PVD) coated system comprising a substrate, the method comprising:

• applying a hard coating to the substrate;
• applying a PVD complex interference stack coating by magnetron sputtering to the substrate, the PVD complex interference stack coating comprising a plurality of separate layers;
• and
• laser etching one or more of a pattern or a graphic into the PVD complex interference stack coating, wherein by the laser etching the PVD complex interference stack coating is at least partially removed and different colors are revealed depending on a depth and structure of the laser etching.