invention provides a process for forming a metal plated and particularly an electroplated elastomer modified polyphthalamide ppa resin article suitable for use in applications that require good impact and thermal cycle resistance such as automotive trim elements the adhesion between the elastomer modified ppa resin and the electroplated metal is exceptional such that upon impact the metal adheres well without chipping cracking or delamination from the substrate and in addition surpasses published automotive thermal cycle corrosion test specifications while this invention is particularly applicable to chrome plating trim elements for automotive applications those skilled in the art will appreciate that the teachings of this invention are applicable to other plating metals and applications in general the process of this invention entails etching a surface of an elastomer modified ppa article with an acidic solution followed by a neutralizing solution followed by treating the surface with a catalyst and accelerant electrolessly plating a layer of metal and then finally electrochemically depositing a desired metal plate onto the electroless metal solvent pretreatment or conditioning of the surface is generally unnecessary preferred elastomer modified ppa resins are available from amoco performance products inc while ppa resins modified with up to 15 weight percent elastomer are known a preferred material for this invention contains about 25 weight percent dispersed elastomer though it is foreseeable that the elastomer content could vary between about 5 to about 35 weight percent an elastomer weight content of about 25 percent is preferred as a result of exhibiting exceptional.