Abrasion-resistant weld overlay

A method of enhancing abrasion-resistance of a metal substrate comprising:

• depositing an abrasion-resistant overlay onto a surface of a metal substrate by plasma transfer arc welding deposition of molten material formed from a material blend comprising:
• a first powder metal component comprising first powder alloy selected from the group consisting of Ni alloy, Fe alloy, Co alloy and mixtures thereof;
• a second powder metal component comprising second alloy powder including one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Al, Ti, Y, V, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf and rare earth elements and
• a tungsten carbide particle component, wherein the tungsten carbide particle component is present in an amount of 50 to 80 weight percent of the material blend, wherein the plasma transfer arc welding deposition is performed by establishing a plasma arc between an electrode and the metal substrate by ionizing a gas, feeding powder through a nozzle into said plasma arc and melting said plasma arc for molten deposition on the meal substrate.