[Polishing of titanium prosthetics (Part 6). The chemical polishing baths containing hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid].

Titanium was polished using several chemical polishing baths containing different ratios of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid. The meltage, surface roughness, and surface texture of titanium samples after chemical polishing were affected by the ratio of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid. Generally the meltage increased and surface roughness decreased when the mole concentration of hydrofluoric acid was high and that of nitric acid was low. For example the chemical polishing bath containing 5 mole hydrofluoric acid and 5 mole nitric acid improved the surface texture in one minute, but SEM observation revealed a partially rough surface caused by the excessive solution. The chemical polishing bath containing 1 mole hydrofluoric acid and 5 mole nitric acid did not improve the surface texture in a short time because of low solubility, but improved the surface texture gradually with the extension of the immersion time and a good surface texture was observed by SEM. The chemical polishing using the chemical polishing bath with low solubility and immersion of the prosthetics for a rather long time were considered useful procedures to obtain a smooth surface of titanium prosthetics while maintaining their accuracy.