Electroplating is used to improve the surface properties of stainless steel by covering the surface with a coating that is resistant to wear or scuffing and corrosion. In order to make the overlay firmly bonded to the metal matrix, different methods can be used to pretreat the surface to remove oil and rust from the surface.

The advantage of electroplating is that it has virtually no effect on the microstructure of the base material, commonly chromium and nickel plating. It is mainly used as artwork and decoration.