For the new electropolishing electrolyte here presented,
the search for the shortest possible electropolishing time was
successful by increasing the electrolyte temperature, obtain-
ing a minimum time of 5 min but for a temperature of 55 ◦C.
However, these conditions were not considered desirable due
to the higher temperature used. Hence, the best conditions
obtained for the electropolishing process were considered to
be the following: temperature of 45 ◦C, electrolysis time of
10 min and current density of around 25 A dm−2. The quality of the electropolishes, preliminarily assessed by visual
inspection, could be confirmed by reflectance spectroscopy
measurements as well as scanning electron microscopy. The
possibility of using a same solution for the electropolish-
ing and coloration of AISI-314 stainless steel is a quite wel-
come outcome. Of course, appropriate care has to be taken
when using this solution due to environmental and health
hazards.