Electropolishing: What Is It and Is It Effective?

The stainless steel fabrication industry has many polishing methods that clear away smudges and other grime to create a smoother, shinier surface. The one polishing method on everyone’s minds right now is electropolishing, and they want to know what it is and if it is effective. Here is what to know.

What Is Electropolishing?

Electropolishing uses electrical currents to smooth out a surface by removing thin layers. Once the polisher removes the top layers, the surface becomes flawless. The process itself uses the electrical ions released from the metal surface as an electrolyte solution.

The Electropolishing Steps

The process is pretty straightforward. Think of electropolishing as what you do when waxing a car for the first time. The process involves prepping your polisher, ensuring the surface is ready for polishing, and coating the surface post-polishing.

Prepping the Surface

This process involves highly similar steps. You might be polishing on your own in no time! When electropolishing with us, you can expect a thorough process. For surface preparation, specialists check the metal surface for specks of dust, grime, and stains. After assessing the space, they begin cleaning. This step requires the specialists to avoid touching the surface.

Electropolishing the Area

Finally, the electropolishing begins. A polishing expert slowly moves their tool around the surface for up to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the metal object. After polishing, the metal goes into a tank for a spray-off to remove the leftover electrolyte solution.

Finishing the Polishing With Post-Dip

The last step is the post-dip. Technicians apply a dip to a car’s metal parts, and they do the same process to metal objects. Workers use a citric acid dip or a cold or hot rinse to remove residue and protect the area from white spots and other deformities.

What Is Electropolishing Used For?

Electropolishing is popular in various industries, including healthcare and food and beverage. Food and beverage companies use electropolishing for sterilizing their production equipment, including metal tanks carrying components to use on food to maintain freshness. The healthcare field uses this function to clean surgical tools and other machinery to extend the tool's lifespan.

The Effects of Electropolishing

This process bestows many benefits. You can see an improved surface roughness of up to 50 percent compared to other surfaces that don’t have viable polishing procedures. One of the other great effects of electropolishing for stainless steel is that it’s an excellent method for removing foreign debris and oils from the surface.

The other benefits of stainless steel electropolishing are that it reveals surface flaws, including decarburizing metals. These benefits are the best reasons to consider electropolishing for your metal products.

Learn more about electropolishing at Custom Manufacturing and Polishing, Inc. Our specialists are trained in stainless steel fabrication, and we’re firm believers in achieving any surface finish you think up. Contact us if you want to learn more about obtaining electropolished stainless steel metal sheets. Our customer service representatives are ready to discuss your stainless steel polishing goals.