Coatings serve as ideal protective films for mechanical systems, providing dependable as well as efficient lubrication because of their unique structure along with outstanding tribological characteristics. Inspired by the “bricks-and-mortar” structure, we prepared layered graphene oxide (GO) composite finishes strengthened with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and borax. Our study demonstrates that the tribological properties of the GO-based coating on 304 stainless steel (SS304) are potentially greatly affected through PVA, GO, and annealing. By optimizing the composition, we achieved the PVA_{40 wt%}/GO_{0.01 wt%}/borax composite coating, which exhibited the lowest average coefficient of friction (COF) of 0.021±0.003 (a 97.86% reduction compared to control SS304) with minimal wear and abrasion even in a water environment. We found that the enhanced mechanical characteristics as well as elastic recovery within the coating were attributed to the hydrogen bonds and cross-linking between PVA and borax, which led to stress distribution. Reduced friction was further aided by the formation of a hydrated layer at the friction interface. As a result, the coating demonstrated remarkable durability, maintaining a low COF during long sliding distances (576 m, 28,800 cycles, significantly longer than previously reported) without breaking.