This paper describes the wear induced transformation of crystalline metal surfaces into amorphous and/or microcrystalline surfaces that exhibit gross changes in the fundamental properties of friction, wear, hardness and toughness. The coatings are applied using wire and powder feed to TWAS and HVOF equipment. Wear processes investigated include adhesive wear, low stress abrasion, grinding wear and galling. The effects of chemical makeup of the surfaces and the alloy structure are examined using microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The surface & underlying coating characteristics including roughness, microstructure, hardness and friction coefficient are determined. Results show that the surface structure is dependent on the wear vector. The structural transformation is a function of the chemical makeup and intrinsic wear resistance of the crystalline alloy coupled with the energy input of the wear process. High energy wear such as grinding wear can overcome the transformation. The results also suggest that the micro-welding that occurs between asperities in crystalline alloys is replaced by a flow process on the transformed surface. Coating structure, glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature and critical cooling rate of the transformed surface are much more significant than the chemistry of the alloy once the transformation takes place.