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(888) 868-2900 | Defense hardware is qualified for the worst-case environment and expected to survive it for decades — shipboard salt exposure, desert heat and arctic cold, ballistic shock, and years of storage before first use. Microscopic burrs, embedded contaminants, free iron, and machining smear become the failure points the environment finds first.
Able Electropolishing works with manufacturers of components for weapons systems, naval vessels and submarines, missiles and munitions, military aircraft and rotorcraft, ground combat vehicles, and radar, sensor, and electronic warfare equipment. Our electropolishing process removes surface peaks, free iron, burrs, and contamination while forming a dense chromium-rich passive layer on stainless steels.
For mission-critical hardware, electropolishing improves corrosion resistance, fatigue performance, feed and actuation reliability, and inspection reliability in a single controlled surface-finishing step — with the documentation package prime contractor supplier quality teams require.
Precision-machined titanium and PH stainless components processed to defense specifications
Send us your defense component for a free evaluation. We’ll electropolish it at no cost so you can evaluate surface finish and corrosion performance before production. ITAR-controlled inquiries welcome.
Salt fog, ballistic shock, cyclic loads, and decades in storage punish surface defects that would never matter in a commercial application. Electropolishing removes the burrs, contaminants, and recast layers that turn into failure modes in the field.
Salt fog, humidity, and chloride exposure attack free iron and surface contamination first. Up to 30× greater corrosion resistance when subjected to ASTM B-117 testing vs. passivation alone.
Naval Hardware · Deployed Systems · GSERemoves the stress risers and micro-cracks where fatigue cracks initiate — measurably increasing fatigue life on components subjected to firing cycles, rotor loads, and transport vibration.
Bolt Carriers · Rotor Hardware · FastenersRemoves microscopic burrs from receivers, valve bodies, manifolds, and actuators — eliminating the friction points and particulate sources that cause stoppages and hydraulic contamination.
Receivers · Valves · Hydraulic ManifoldsMunitions and spares can sit in depots for decades before use. A chromium-enriched passive layer and contamination-free surface protect function on the first attempt — years after production.
Munitions · Depot Spares · War ReserveInjector features, turbine components, and intricate weapons parts machined by EDM carry a brittle recast layer that cracks under load. Electropolishing removes it while maintaining dimensional tolerances.
Turbine Parts · Injectors · Precision FeaturesRemoves machining smear (.0002″–.0005″ per surface) that seals microcracks from FPI and DPI penetrant. Restores true defect visibility for AS9100 and NADCAP-grade nondestructive inspection.
FPI · DPI · NDTUltra-clean, oxide-free surfaces for TIG, laser, and e-beam weld joints — and removal of heat tint and weld discoloration on pressure vessels, exhaust systems, and structural assemblies.
Pressure Vessels · Exhaust · WeldmentsElectropolishing liberates oxygen during processing, avoiding the hydrogen uptake common to pickling and acid cleaning — critical for high-strength PH stainless, 300M, and high-nickel superalloys.
17-4 PH · 300M · InconelSmoother surfaces reduce friction and galling on threaded fasteners, valve stems, and sliding interfaces — extending service life on hardware that gets assembled, disassembled, and maintained in the field.
Fasteners · Valve Stems · Nitronic 60Electropolishing prepares critical metal components for the corrosive, high-cycle, contamination-sensitive conditions defense systems operate in.
Salt spray, immersion, and chloride attack on naval and marine corps hardware.
Thermal extremes, sand and dust abrasion, and condensation cycling in deployed environments.
Firing loads, ballistic shock, rotor vibration, and transport over unimproved terrain.
Depot and war-reserve storage where corrosion protection must hold for 20+ years.
Passivation removes free iron and forms a chromium-oxide passive layer on stainless steel. Able runs all three common approaches in-house — and for defense hardware where corrosion margin, reliability, and fatigue life all matter, electropolishing followed by passivation is the gold standard.
Some defense weldments and scale-heavy parts still get specified for pickling. Here’s how the three process classes compare on the criteria that matter for mission-critical hardware — including the hydrogen embrittlement risk pickling introduces on high-strength steels like 4340 and 300M.
| Criterion | Pickling | Passivation | Electropolishing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removes base material | Aggressive / uneven etch | No | Microscopically precise (±.0001″–.0005″) |
| Removes burrs & microcracks | Partial | No | Yes |
| Surface roughness (Ra) | Roughens & etches | No change | Improves up to 50% |
| Weld heat tint & oxide scale | Yes — but uncontrolled | No | Yes — down to clean base metal |
| Improves fatigue life | No | No | Yes |
| Corrosion resistance | Can pit if uncontrolled | Improves | Up to 30× vs. passivation alone |
| Hydrogen embrittlement risk | Yes — high-strength & high-carbon steels | Low | None — anodic process |
| Leaves part passivated | No | Yes | Yes |
| Process consistency | Bath weakens with age | Good | Controlled & repeatable |
| Alloy compatibility | Too corrosive for many alloys | Limited — flash attack risk on low Cr-Ni grades | 35+ alloy families |
Full details in our technical guide: Passivation, Pickling or Electropolishing — Which Metal Finishing Process Is Right for Your Parts? Available from our Learning Center.
From the bolt carrier to the seawater manifold, we finish the structural, fluid, and precision hardware that goes downrange — and the support equipment behind it. Send us a print ›
Receivers, bolt carriers, firing pins, gas tubes, barrel components, trigger group parts.
Guidance hardware, motor case components, fin actuators, fuze housings, warhead hardware.
Seawater valves, manifolds, pump internals, torpedo tube hardware, hull penetrators.
Engine components, hydraulic manifolds, fuel system parts, actuator housings, rotor hardware.
Turret drive assemblies, armor hardware, powertrain components, hydraulic actuators.
Waveguide sections, feedhorns, antenna hardware, sensor housings, precision RF components.
Optical housings, mounts, rails, precision mechanical assemblies for sighting systems.
Valve bodies, spools, cylinders, fittings, and manifolds for flight and vehicle systems.
Flight-critical and marine-grade fasteners in A286, Inconel, titanium, and Nitronic alloys.
Test-stand hardware, depot tooling, loading equipment, and maintenance fixtures.
Fluorescent (FPI) and dye (DPI) penetrant inspection only works if surface-breaking defects are open to the penetrant. Machining, grinding, and EDM smear metal across the surface and partially seal the microcracks inspection is designed to find. Electropolishing dissolves that smeared layer uniformly and exposes true defects — lot after lot.
Chemical etching is the traditional pre-FPI surface prep, but it carries real metallurgical risks — intergranular attack, hydrogen pickup, and lot-to-lot inconsistency from bath age and temperature. Electropolishing removes the same smeared layer without attacking grain boundaries or introducing hydrogen.
| Factor | Chemical Etching | Electropolishing |
|---|---|---|
| Smear layer removal | Good — removes work-hardened smear | Excellent — dissolves peaks and smear uniformly |
| Defect opening | Opens crack mouths but can attack base metal | Opens crack mouths cleanly, no base-metal damage |
| Dimensional control | Poor — uneven, hard to predict material loss | ±0.0001″ uniform removal per surface |
| Hydrogen embrittlement | Risk on high-strength alloys (PH, 17-4, 300M) | None — anodic process evolves O₂ at part surface |
| Intergranular attack | Risk on sensitized stainless | None — dissolution is uniform across grains |
| Surface finish after prep | Rougher / matte — can create new indication traps | Up to 50% Ra improvement — reduces false calls |
| Alpha case removal (Ti) | Partial, uneven | Complete and uniform — restores fatigue life |
| Process repeatability | Bath age and temperature drift | Controlled by current, time, and chemistry |
| Spec alignment | AMS 2649, ASTM E1417 (with cautions) | ASTM B912, compatible with AMS 2700 & NADCAP |
| Best use case | Low-cost prep where tolerances do not matter | Mission-critical parts where FPI reliability matters |
Wire EDM is used throughout defense hardware — injector orifices, turbine components, waveguides, fire-control mechanisms, and intricate weapons parts — but it leaves behind a recast layer of re-deposited, rapidly-cooled metal. That layer is brittle, prone to microcracks, and introduces dimensional variation on features that were just machined to tight tolerance.
Electropolishing dissolves the recast layer uniformly, controlled to ±.0002″. Material is removed from high points first, so the underlying geometry is preserved while the amorphous surface is stripped away to expose true base metal.
Electropolishing also delivers up to 50% Ra improvement and meaningful fatigue life gains when taking approximately .001″ total material removal.
Read the full case study ›We meet or exceed the specifications your supplier quality team will ask for. Certificates of compliance ship with every order.
Registered with the U.S. State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Controlled handling of defense articles and technical data throughout the process.
Quality management system certified for aerospace, space, and defense manufacturing supply chains — with full lot traceability on every order.
All processing performed at our Chicago, IL facility — supporting DFARS 252.225 specialty-metals and domestic-sourcing flow-downs.
Standard specification for stainless steel passivation using electropolishing — commonly called out on defense prints.
Aerospace Material Specification and ASTM passivation of corrosion-resistant steels. Nitric and citric methods, all types and classes.
Finishing of metal and wood surfaces — electropolish and passivation finish designations per military standard requirements and customer process specs.
Search or filter alloys commonly used in weapons, naval, missile, aircraft, and ground vehicle hardware.
| Alloy | Category | Finish | Typical Defense Parts | Service Environment | EP Benefit | Ra Before → After |
|---|
Able processes 35+ alloy families with proprietary recipes. Full alloy library and finish documentation at ableelectropolishing.com/alloys-electropolished.
We consult with your engineering team from design and prototyping through full production, ensuring the electropolishing specification integrates seamlessly with your QMS and AS9100, MIL-STD, or prime-contractor-specific requirements.
We review part drawings, specifications, and applicable standards via Teams or email to confirm electropolishing will meet your requirements for your specific alloy, geometry, and service environment. ITAR-controlled prints are handled per DDTC requirements.
We process your actual parts on production equipment — not a bench test — within 24–48 hours. You receive Ra measurements before and after, plus process documentation for qualification packages.
Production orders are processed with full quality monitoring, robotic automation for consistency, and real-time documentation. Standard turnaround is 3–5 business days.
Every order ships with process records, certificates of compliance, and Ra measurements. Documentation packages formatted for AS9100, MIL-STD, AMS, and prime-contractor first-article and qualification requirements.
Our dock ships 12 hours per day. We accommodate drop-shipping, expedited freight, and for high-cleanliness applications, double-bag nitrogen-purged clean packaging.
Yes. Able is registered with the U.S. State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). We handle export-controlled technical data, drawings, and physical defense articles with controlled processes throughout receiving, production, and shipment.
We routinely process to ASTM B912 (electropolishing), AMS 2700 and ASTM A967 (passivation), MIL-STD-171 finish designations, ASTM F86, ISO 15730, and customer-specific process specifications. Send your print and applicable spec — we review every job against your qualification requirements before processing.
Yes. 100% of processing is performed at our 50,000 sq. ft. facility in Chicago, Illinois. Nothing is subcontracted offshore, which supports DFARS 252.225 and domestic-sourcing flow-down requirements from prime contractors.
Electropolishing:
Passivation:
If there is a question regarding our capabilities, email a print for review to sales@ableelectropolishing.com.
Every order ships with a certificate of compliance. Ra measurements, process records, dimensional data, and material traceability documentation are available to support prime contractor first-article and qualification packages. Tell us your documentation requirements at quoting.
Standard delivery is 3 to 5 working days after receipt of order. Next-day and same-day services are offered at an additional cost — contact our sales department for expedite options.
A copy of the drawing, service needed, lot and annual quantities, process specification, and packaging requirements. ITAR-controlled prints are handled per DDTC requirements.
Send us your actual production parts. We process them on production equipment — not bench tests — and return them with Ra measurements and documentation suited for qualification packages. Turnaround is 24–48 hours and we cover shipping.
Tell us about your defense component and we’ll follow up within one business day. ITAR-controlled inquiries welcome — export-controlled data handled per DDTC requirements.
Request a Free Sample Request a QuoteFree sample includes return shipping · Processed in 24–48 hrs on production equipment
The extreme heat resistance and resilience characteristic of refractory metals like niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum and TZM make them useful in applications like aerospace components, small modular reactor components and other parts that must withstand extreme environments.
A wide array of modern assemblies for everything from aerospace parts to medical devices depend on high-quality springs that must perform to incredibly precise specifications, often in very tiny spaces.
Small modular reactors are entering component fabrication under tight schedule pressure. Across every coolant technology, surface integrity is becoming a qualification gate — not an afterthought.
Electropolishing’s ability to remove a microscopically precise layer of surface material – with consistent and repeatable results – is a key reason it is so often specified as the final step in finishing metal parts for industries with no room for error.
