Electropolishing and cleaning stainless steel and aluminum

[aboard_epsilon]

Is this really just for tarnished stainless ..

or does it remove scratches and turn brushed finished stainless to polished finished .

if it does not ..then i would rather just use metal polish ...for a couple of mins .

all the best.marekj

[Evan]

Propylene glycol doesn't sound all that bad but disposal is still a little ambiguous even for the pure form, let alone mixtures.

Help. You are seriously confusing the issue. Propylene glycol is used to protect potable water plumbing from freezing in situations where the plumbing is not in use such as in a RV or a closed house. How do you think it is removed from the lines? The water is turned on and it is flushed down the drain. I recommend running the water for at least 10 minutes as the stuff tastes terrible.

BTW, are you related to oldtiffie?

Propylene glycol USP from DOW Chemical:

PG USP/EP from Dow is an important ingredient for a multitude of uses, including:

Solvent for aromatics in the flavor-concentrate industry
Wetting agent for natural gums
Ingredient in the compounding of citrus and other emulsified flavors
Solvent in elixirs and pharmaceutical preparations
Solvent and coupling agent in the formulation of sun screen, lotion, shampoos, shaving creams and other similar products
Emulsifier in cosmetic and pharmaceutical creams
Ingredient for low-temperature heat-transfer fluids involving indirect food contact, such as brewing and dairy uses, as well as refrigerated grocery display cases
Very effective humectant, preservative and stabilizer in semi-moist pet food (with the exception of cat food), bakery goods, food flavorings and salad dressings

http://www.dow.com/propyleneglycol/prod/pguspep.htm

[Evan]

Is this really just for tarnished stainless ..

or does it remove scratches and turn brushed finished stainless to polished finished .

This isn't just a cleaning process. It is a levelling process. It actually makes the finish flat. I will take a comparison micrograph a bit later this am of the surface of the faceplate and post it.

[mochinist]

BTW, are you related to oldtiffie?

lol I was thinking the same thing

[aboard_epsilon]

This isn't just a cleaning process. It is a levelling process. It actually makes the finish flat. I will take a comparison micrograph a bit later this am of the surface of the faceplate and post it.

i want you to scuff a bit a stainless up with 100 grit paper ..then do the polishing process ..
only then will i be convinced .

where the hell do you get phosphoric acid from cheap ?

all the best.markj

[Evan]

Phosphoric acid is sold for adjusting the pH of greenhouse water supplies. Check with anybody that supplies the greenhouse trade.

I'll try a test today using a scuffed sample.

[John Stevenson]

I am really surprised so few people seem interested in this. I recall quite a few comments on this subject in the past.

Evan,
Just because someone doesn't post on it doesn't mean to say they are not interested.
I have read this and found it very interesting, I have no intention of ever using it due to not needing it but nether the less it's still interesting to read how other are tackling different problems.

.

[QSIMDO]

Phosphoric acid is sold for adjusting the pH of greenhouse water supplies. Check with anybody that supplies the greenhouse trade.

And any farm supply store.
It's used for cleaning milk stone out of milking/storage equipment.

[Tony Ennis]

Patents can be a wealth of information ... that you can't use.

More accurately, they are a wealth of information... from which you can't derive income.

Market the mixture, you have a problem. Use it in your garage, no problem.

[Evan]

from which you can't derive income.

You can if it has expired.

This one is a good reference. It was granted in 1949.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2461035.pdf

[J Tiers]

More accurately, they are a wealth of information... from which you can't derive income.

Market the mixture, you have a problem. Use it in your garage, no problem.

Not at all true. If you derive a benefit from it, i.e. you use it, you have deprived the patent holder of the income he otherwise could have gotten from you (directly or indirectly). Therefore your private use of the patented process or device is exactly equivalent to selling a product based on it with no license, just on a much smaller scale.

You are unlikely to be prosecuted, but that is at least partly because your use is not known to the patent holder. And also because the results are not likely to pay. But a patent holder has an obligation to take note of, and demand cessation of, any unlicensed usage. If that is not done, the patent may become null and void, and non-action could even be a defense in the case of an infringement, claiming that the patent has been nullified by non-defense of rights.

This isn't just a cleaning process. It is a levelling process. It actually makes the finish flat.

Probably better to say it is a 'smoothing" process to avoid confusion. The chemical action has little effect on overall flatness as was discussed in the 'glass plate thread". What it does is to remove small roughness. There would be little effect on a large radius bow of say 20 thou in 10 inches, for instance, but such a bow is a distinctly "non-flat" condition for our purposes.

[rollin45]

Evan,,this is great information!!

I'm 1949 vintage and haven't expired and I am glad of that, and glad you posted this.

rollin'

[Evan]

Not at all true. If you derive a benefit from it, i.e. you use it, you have deprived the patent holder of the income he otherwise could have gotten from you (directly or indirectly). Therefore your private use of the patented process or device is exactly equivalent to selling a product based on it with no license, just on a much smaller scale.

That is correct for an unexpired patent. However, there is a principle that makes it unenforceable in practice. Since there is no commercial gain if used for personal use only, the most that a patent holder can do is to notify the infringer to "cease and desist". Actual damages cannot be collected as they cannot be enumerated. A lost oppourtunity to sell you a license cannot be counted as actual damages since it cannot be shown that you would buy such a license. Only punitive damages can be collected and only from the date of notification of infringement. It is also impossible to "conspire to infringe". Only actual infringement is actionable.

At any rate the information I have used is all from prior art that has long since expired or was never patented at all.

[boslab]

mt companies spend an awful lot of time looking at other companies patents, mainly to rejig them to bypass the patent process, thats life i'm afraid as far as patents are concerned its a case of print and be dammed i,m afraid.
most of the world does not a] follow Christian principles and b] respect intellectual property [methinks britain and America rate quite highly in the ignore the patent bit too.
Apart from that the Electropolishing recipie from Evan is brilliant, it gets around a difficult problem, worrying weather its sombodies patent?
copied any music lately? maybee the odd photocopy of a book? [copyright is law too]
mark

[DFMiller]

Evan,
I am following this thread with much interest. Sometimes listening is a good thing. Keep up the good work. Dave