Disclosed herein is a method comprising mixing a carrier liquid with particles and/or with a particle precursor to form a suspension or solution respectively; where the particles comprise a metal oxide; and where the particle precursor comprises a metal salt; injecting the suspension or solution through a plasma flame; and depositing the particles and/or the particle precursor onto a substrate to form an first abradable coating; where the first abradable coating comprises a plurality of cracks or voids that are substantially perpendicular to the substrate surface, where the substrate is a hub surface of a gas turbine engine or where the substrate is a cantilever stator.