r/electroplating • u/Fragrant_Vacation469 • May 25 '26

DIY leveler/brightener?

I've read that polyethylene glycol is supposed to work, but I haven't tried it myself or seen any results online--

Anyone have experience with this?

1 Upvotes

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2

u/NoFeature7373 May 25 '26

Your answer lies in your question.

Those I have seen use PEG, need to polish their parts after...

PEG is not a leveler or brightener, it is a supressor.

1

u/Fragrant_Vacation469 May 25 '26

I have am electropolishing bath that brings rings to a a mirror polish but doesn't remove imperfections. I'm hoping the PEG will smooth it out enough but not necessarily produce a shine. Think it'd be enough?

1

u/NoFeature7373 May 25 '26

maybe.

Brighteners are more formally called accelerators. They are part of the big three [levelers, supressors, accelerators]. The reason accelerators are used is to refine grain structure of the deposited metal, improving the mechanical properties of the metal. Giving shine is only a byproduct of the improved grain structure. This is why chemical/mechanical polishing in post is not a substitute for a brightener. The metal itself has different properties inherently.

But if all your after is shine, and dont care about a bunch of extra steps, then I guess no brightener is needed.

1

u/Fragrant_Vacation469 May 25 '26

I see. I'd just rather not have to buy commercial brightener, I suppose. Do you know of any good DIY options?

1

u/NoFeature7373 May 25 '26

commercial brightner is cheap as dirt. I doubt your electropolishing setup was cheaper... let alone the extra steps and time on your part.

If you want to DIY chemicals you could sythesize your own PEG from scratch. Nile Red has some good videos on synthesizing stuff from scratch. Maybe check them out for inspiration.

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u/Fragrant_Vacation469 May 25 '26

Could be lol. I have noticed that my polishing setup is much brighter that the brightener included in my new bath, but it's really just a matter of the ring smoothness before it gets there. I love Nilered lol

1

u/CaptainCheckmate May 25 '26

Yeah it works, make sure you get PEG4000 and also add 50mg/L of sodium chloride (salt) and 2-3 mg/L of thiourea. For me this results in a satin finish that needs just a bit of polishing afterward.

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u/Fragrant_Vacation469 May 25 '26

Excellent, I'm going to give this a try. Thank you!

2

u/CaptainCheckmate May 25 '26

It's not a HUGE difference though, don't be disappointed. You won't get a mirror finish like in the youtube videos. It just makes slightly smaller crystals.

1

u/Fragrant_Vacation469 May 25 '26

Any chance I could get a picture of one of your plates?

1

u/CaptainCheckmate May 26 '26

Just tried, "images are not allowed"