How big of a pad are you talking about? What is contact/impact stress? You may try Stellite (Alloy 6 or 21) for good wear resistance. If you need even better wear resistance, you can try a Tungsten Carbide overlay coating, or a Nitrided Tool Steel, or a Boride diffusion alloyed high carbon steel. Or a Mn steel may work well if toughness (impact resistance) is more important.
I can help with more details and a source for the coatings if you are interested (matt.hinckley@tmtresearch.com).