A series of Ni alloys containing 36.15 -44.54 wt.% Cr and 2.0 -13.50 wt.% Al was synthesized by SelfPropagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) using a mixture of NiO, Cr 2 O 3 and Al powders in order to obtain low-cost starting materials for thermal spray powder production. The experiments were carried out with the addition of an excess stoichiometric amount of Al between 0 % and 30 %. Additions of CaO and CaF 2 were also done to remove sulfur from the alloy and to investigate the effect on metal recovery. Thermochemical simulations of the SHS processes were examined with the FactSage program. The products were characterized by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and microhardness techniques.