Electropolishing of Stainless Steel

Beside aluminum being electropolished, Stainless steel also need electropolished. To make stainless steel have more corrosion resistance, the hidden properties should be exposed by the process of oxidized the surface of stainless steel. This combines desirable mechanical properties with a known and proven level of corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is one of the most popular alloys to electropolish because it enhances its corrosion resistance properties. The performance of stainless steel alloys are well known and fully documented and despite these known properties and use within an appropriate environment, stainless steels can still fail from corrosion.




The basic steel of stainless steels are iron-based alloys (minimum 50% iron) and have at least 10.5% chromium. The chromium content of this alloy make stainless steel have corrosion resistance. When the chromium is exposed to oxygen, it spontaneously forms a passive oxide layer. This passive oxide layer is very thin, yet it prevents further diffusion of oxygen into the base material and thus prevents corrosion. Stainless steel electropolishing enhances the passive oxide layer by making it thicker, and therefore more resistant to harsh environments.

The detail of this process will discuss more detail later. The common stainless steel that can be electropolished such as follows:

• Stainless Steel 304 and 316
• Stainless Steel 316L
• Stainless Steel 400
• Duplex Stainless Steel

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