NOS 254xp cylinder plating concerns and comparison?

[vienster]

I just got this 254xp cylinder in the mail today and it has small dots all over the surface of the cylinder. I can barely see the cross hatch unless I look at the cylinder from a certain angle. I don't know if the cylinder plating is different, defective/oxidized or this is normal? Its a Kolbenschmidt cylinder. I also recently purchased a Mahle cylinder with no decomp and the cross hatch looks perfect. When you drag your nail along the walls of the Mahle cylinder it feels significantly smoother than the cylinder in question.
Am I looking at two different types of plated cylinders? Chrome vs nikasil? If it's chrome are those dots corrosion or of any concern? I'm thinking it will at the very least cause more drag as you can most certainly feel a difference in the surface RA.

The cylinder with the $ sign has a larger transfer port and the combustion chamber appears different. The Mahle has a cooling fin on the base.

 

[vienster]

Also lets say hypothetically the item was shipped in a bubble mailer with no protection and the piston just beat the **** out of itself the whole way hear and it's all dented. I honestly don't know how stupid it would be to use the piston given its condition.

I'm amazed there were no broken fins. If the seller had just installed the ring and put the piston back in the cylinder instead of putting a piece of crumpled paper in it to hold it I wouldn't be posting these painful pictures.

If I decide to keep this would it even work since it's a Mahle piston or does it have to be an A piston instead of AB to go with that cylinder.