Letter 21035

AISI 316 steel polishing problem [Turkey] 

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We do electropolishing. We use different material ( AISI 420,301,304,316) if I use 316,and Bath is dirty , begin surface problem surface is different area. I don't understand problem.

Erhan Aydoðan
afs knife and mold - Istanbul, Turkey

You haven't described what you mean by "Bath is dirty" However, even with adequate precleaning, cutting oil can be trapped beneath the surface during machining and then released during electropolishing. Any oil floating on the surface can stick to parts and prevent polishing in those areas.

My advice: 1) Use sharper tooling, 2) electroclean or degrease parts before electropolishing, 3) skim oil off EP bath, and 4) add an acid-compatible surfactant (detergent) to the EP solution.

Ken Vlach - Goleta, California

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