Electro Polishing Stainless
 

Does anyone have any experience with this? Im working on a new Rudder for A Hydroplane made out of
17-4 that is hardened to 44 RC
.The guy at a local industrial plating shop was telling me that, all I had to do was "stone the the tool marks out" and give it to him.
I am familiar with polishing as a die maker,but I am wondering what surface finish is realyl required before letting him have it.

Thanks

I am by no means an expert on this but I have had a bunch of stainless exhaust parts done for a turbo charged drag race car. I was told that the process takes off a microscopic surface layer and provides a polished look by eliminating the surface inpurities. I got the impression that it's a electric and chemical process...................stick the stuff in a tank, attach electrodes to it, and run a current over it / past it?? On the first parts I had done I learned that I had to tell them to "do both sides" to get best results. When I got the parts back originally one side was nice and shiny and the other side was clean looking but had a dull silver look, not shiny. I guess because the process is directional they have to do the first side then reset it up to do the other side. I didn't have any big surface imperfections on the stuff to begin with but I got the impression that this process wouldn't do anything to fix them if I did. Kind of like chrome............make sure that the surface condition is the way you want it because it will look the same after it's done, except it'll be shiny. Hope this helps.

Pat