Friction surfacing was carried out with tool steel (AISI 01) and inconel 600 consumables on mild steel 1020 substrate in an argon atmosphere. Inconel bonded strongly with the substrate and there was evidence of interfacial compound formation between the substrate and coating. For tool steel coatings, a sharp boundary between the substrate and coating was observed by scanning electron microscopy. X-ray fluoroscopic imaging also revealed this boundary. Mechanical interlocking between the coating and the substrate appears to be insignificant so adhesion between the coatings and the substrate may be caused by solid-phase bonding. For friction surfacing of both tool steel and inconel, a nominal contact pressure as high as 21.8 MPa was required to obtain an adherent coating of uniform quality.