Corrosion resistance is the parameter that describes the deterioration of intrinsic properties of a metal due to a chemical reaction in the environment. This term is not only defined by the chemical composition of metals and alloys, but also by many other factors, such as fastener design, surface quality, stress concentrations and cracking. Environmental factors, such as chloride ion concentration, chemical composition of the corrosive environment, temperature, pH, pressure and oxidizing agents are also important in determining resistance.

Dry Electropolishing is an electrochemical finishing process that removes a thin layer of material from metal pieces, such as titanium, cobalt chrome, copper, aluminum or stainless steel, among others. This technology is the preferred method to enhance corrosion resistance and improve surface quality of metal parts. The technology leaves metal parts with 30x more corrosion resistance than passivation. Therefore, has replaced passivation as the favorite method to improve corrosion resistance. Additionally, is able to remove embedded free iron, contaminants and heat tint or oxide scale and reduce the roughness of the surface in one operation.

Passivation is a chemical metal finishing process to improve corrosion resistance of stainless-steel parts. For this kind of metal, the passivation process uses citric acid or nitric acid to eliminate ferrous contaminants like free iron from the surface. The chemical treatment leads to a protective oxide layer that is less likely to chemically react with air and cause corrosion. Passivation works by dipping the metal part to be treated in a bath of acid. This substance dissolves any free iron or other contaminants from the surface, thus cleaning the metal, and it re-oxidizes the chromium.