Austenitic stainless steels (ASS) have inadequate resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). There are several ways to minimise the risk of SCC. One method is to increase the nickel content of the ASS. Electroless and electroplated costings were applied to ASS, Type 304, in order to produce a thin layer of nickel on its surface. Also during the present study, a SCC test was carried out at constant load in a tensile‐testing machine. The results showed that a thin layer of austenitic phase that had a high concentration of nickel and chromium was produced. This layer had good corrosion resistance compared to that of the base material and contained lower concentrations of Cr and Ni. The results obtained in these experiments reveal that austenitic steel to which the electroless coating process had been applied showed improved resistance to SCC, due to the presence of precipitates of the hard phase, Ni3P, which retarded localised breakdown of the oxide film.