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Electropolishing of nitrided steel

Q. What should be the electrolyte for electropolishing of plasma nitrided parts (En41B steel) to improve the surface finish? Can we use the general electrolytes used for alloy steel (perchloric acid + acetic acid [on eBay or Amazon] combination) for this nitrided steel also?

K.Chandrasekaran
Metallurgist - Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
2004

!! I can only warn that perchloric acid should not be used in anything larger than a very small beaker [beakers on eBay or Amazon], and then only by a highly trained & skilled chemist in a laboratory. Some experts feel that even that use should be prohibited. Either way, it's absolutely not for "parts".

The worst accident in the history of the metal finishing industry, which killed 15 people, left 2 missing (probably vaporized), injured over 150 people, and leveled 4 city blocks, involved electropolishing with perchloric acid. Don't do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyA9u-mnQTw

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

!! Acetic acid is an organic. Perchloric acid is an oxidizer. If you get the portions and conditions correct, you have a bomb.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida

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