Electropolishing of aluminium: processing and assessment of visual appearance

The process of electropolishing aluminium and its influence on the visual appearance are studied. Angle‐resolved scattering (ARS) and total integrated scattering (TIS) are used to investigate the influence of electropolishing on surface roughness. The ARS apparatus is built similar to the ASTM E430‐97A standard. This standard test method is used for measurement of distinctness of image and haze by goniophotometry. These visual appearance parameters, together with TIS, reflect the changes in surface roughness. Total reflectance is correlated to the composition of the aluminium as well as the composition and thickness of the layer formed on the aluminium. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.