Nucleation and growth behavior, micro-structure, and preferred orientation of vanadium carbide coatings formed using a borax bath were studied, focussing on the effects of coating temperature and substrate steel. The coatings were formed through three stages; nucleation and growth of relatively coarse grains, sub-micron sized grain formation on these, and growth into thick coatings by successive deposition of coarse grains. Preferred orientation was highly influenced by temperature and substrate steel.