Cermichrome has a uniform frosty appearance, like a matte finish. Channel chrome has a randomly crazed finish & is shiny between cracks. It's the crazing that retains oil for cyl wall/ring lubrication. I'm not a cermi/silica fan. I've seen where the rings went through an area of the plating & when it does it starts to chew the wall up bad. Channel chrome is actually beyond bulletproof. Trouble is, you "almost always" get higher oil consumption (yucky belly) with channel chrome than with plain or nitrided barrels. You won't find a lot of chrome engines that go over 20 hrs per quart of oil, whereas a nicely fitted steel lyc will go easy 25 hrs on the first quart.