Improvements to an Ni-(5-6 wt.%)B coating have resulted in exceptional hardness and wear resistance that meet or exceed many of the performance standards set by hard chromium. Currently, no other bath plating technologies offer properties competitive with hard chromium, including electroless nickel-phosphorous derivatives and older versions of Ni-B. In this article, the improved Ni-B is discussed in terms of microstructural features, performance properties, coating methodology, and applications.