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Electropolishing using sodium nitrate

I have been looking for information on using Sodium Nitrate [affil links] as an electrolyte for electropolishing 304L Stainless. Does anyone know of any information on using this type of solution? I would like to get away from using the Phosphoric and sulfuric type baths. I have heard that this is possible using square wave pulse waveforms. Any help would be appreciated.

Brian Beaubien
Chemist - Sacramento, California
November 19, 2009

November 20, 2009

Hi, Brian. It is possible to electropolish with milder materials than the strong acids, but to my knowledge all such approaches are still proprietary rather than generic and public domain. Maybe someone will correct me on this.

Regards,

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

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