Re: The CASE for mandatory inspections!

I've often wondered what can be done about thinning of various parts of boilers.
It seems with the many exotic (and not-so-exotic) clean room and electro-plating techniques available today that one could essentially build up areas of boilers by plating new material onto the cleaned-up older material.
I'm not a metallurgist (by any means!) but am somewhat familiar with the very high-tech equipment used to build up integrated circuits. Couldn't these same techniques (albeit on a relatively gargantuan scale) be used to rebuild boiler shells without traditional welding techniques?
If it could be done, it seems like this would enhance safety and operating capabilities, as well as pacify/comfort the cultural restoration folk.
Could someone who understands these things comment on the possibilities?
Tom