Unbalanced magnetron deposited niobium coatings show a dense structure approaching that of the bulk material and an optimum corrosion performance on razor blade steel when grown with negative bias voltages between -75 and -100 V, a bias current of approximately 1 mA cm - 2 and a substrate temperature of 400°C. The pre-treatment with either niobium or argon ions influences the growth mechanism considerably, in particular the grain size and crystallographic orientation. Anodic oxidation in dilute weak aqueous acids leads to oxide interference colours allowing the generation of deep blue, steel blue, lime green, red, yellow and golden colours.