I have to ask...what brass??

Very, very few of our cylinders are nikasil plated. I can only name one manufacturer that uses real nikasil plating process. At $200.00 for less than 50cc cylinder we are not getting any of them Most are done through a process called "flame plating" It's the cheapest of the cheap ways to apply plating.

As for cylinder honing, there are many cylinders that are honed before the plating is applied. One of those companies immediately comes to mind, and I believe most of the Chinese cylinders are done the same way. A few cylinders are not honed at all, or polished out to remove any visible honing. Those are the mirror smooth cylinders. Nikasil plating appears somewhat dark gray inside a cylinder and I have not seen much of that in our engines. However, the Mahle engines made for Stihl have some of the best cylinders a hobbyist can get his hands on.