An attempt has been made in this work to develop coatings with improved corrosion and abrasion resistance properties based on trivalent chromium which is eco-friendly in nature were tried besides their optical properties. Taber abrasion measurements confirmed the improvement of wear resistance of trivalent black coated surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) was used to understand the surface morphologies of coatings being responsible for improvement in mechanical properties of automobile components. The enhancement of corrosion resistance is also validated through salt spray analysis. © 2013 University of Manchester and the authors.