Acid Burnishing Compounds

Acid burnishing compounds are used to give bright, lustrous surfaces. Acid burnishing compounds are usually used with steel media but can be used with ceramic media. Acid burnishing compounds are usually developed with one particular application in mind with lubricity, foam level, feed and roll of media, and cleaning capability the most important characteristics. It is focusing on specific requirements that so many different acid burnishing compounds come about.

Most of the new acid burnishing compounds were developed with extra inhibition in mind. It is important to keep in mind that acid burnishers are reactive and can offer only limited corrosion protection. Acid burnishers with added inhibiting properties are designed to hold steel media for short periods of time (if a machine has to be shut off for a couple of hours during the day). Even with the added inhibitor package, the parts should be treated with a post inhibit solution.

The most popular acid burnishing compounds include:

L-543 is a powerful acid burnishing compound - operating pH 4.4. It has excellent burnishing and bleaching properties, and produces bright steel, copper, and brass. L-543 is a low foaming and excellent feeding compound that will clean light oils. It must be treated with post inhibition solution.

L-547 is an acid-burnishing compound used on all metals - operating pH is 5.0. L-547 is used primarily on white metals such as silver, and is a high foaming compound with good cleaning and good inhibition. It is also available in a concentrate.

L-547LF2 is a low foaming version of L-547. It utilizes a vibratory safe silicone emulsion defoamer.

L-547LF3 is even more low foam than L-547LF2.

L-552 is an acid-burnishing compound used on all metals, most commonly copper. L-552 is a moderately foaming compound and offers moderate inhibition. It is also available in a concentrate.

L-553 was designed as a mixture between L-543 and L-552. It offers better cleaning and inhibition than L-543 and better feed and roll than L-552. It has an operating pH of 4.6. L-553 must be treated with a post inhibition solution.

L-553EXA was designed based upon L-553 with added cleaning capabilities. As well as better cleaning capabilities, it also gives better feed and roll than L-553.

L-555 is an acid-burnishing compound designed for use on non-ferrous metals. L-555 has excellent cushioning for soft metals and gives good brightening. Its operating pH is 5.5. It has excellent cleaning, high foam and offers good inhibition. It is available in a concentrate.

L-2744I is a liquid burnishing compound for use in mass finishing. It can also be used for cleaning and deburring and has some corrosion inhibiting qualities. It is particularly well suited for imparting bright finishes on white metals like Zinc, Aluminum, and Stainless Steel.

XL-309 is a mild acid burnishing compound. It is the best choice for general-purpose compound. XL-309 has an operating pH of 6.0 and can be used with all types of media and has excellent cleaning and inhibition properties. It gives exceptionally bright surface on zinc. It is available in a concentrate.

XL-309C-KS is a concentrate burnishing compound diluted with 40 gallons of water to yield 55 gallons of ROTO-BRITE XL-309- After dilution, the resulting compound, ROTO-BRITE XL-309 is used in a burnishing operation with steel media at a recommended dilution of one ounce per gallon of water.

XL-309LF2 is a low foam version of XL-309 using a silicone emulsion defoamer.

XL-309LFX is a low foam version of XL-309 using low foaming surfactants. It contains no silicone emulsion defoamer.

XL-451 is an acid-burnishing compound specifically designed for use with steel media on aluminum. Its operating pH is 5.0. XL-451 is a moderately foaming compound with good cleaning, and inhibition.

XL-495 is an acid-burnishing compound designed for use with steel media on all metals. Its operating pH is 4.5. XL-495 offers moderate corrosion protection, but has poor cold weather stability. It is available in a concentrate.

XL-577 is an acid-burnishing compound designed for use with steel media on all metals except zinc. It is a low to moderately foaming compound. Its operating pH is 4.9.

XL-580 is an acid-burnishing compound designed based upon L-543 with added cleaning. It is designed for ferrous metals, copper, and brass. Its operating pH is 4.4. XL-580 offers excellent feed and roll. It must be treated with a post inhibition solution.

XL-1217 is an acid-burnishing compound designed for use on all metals, (operating pH 5.0-5.3). It has excellent cleaning and corrosion inhibition qualities. XL-1217 is a moderately to high foaming compound.

XL-1245 is a low foaming acid burnishing compound with properties comparable to L-555 but with much lower foam. XL-1245 offers excellent bleaching properties and burnishing qualities on white metals and on copper and brass. Its operating pH is 5.3-5.7.

XL-1253 is a mildly acidic burnishing compound designed based upon XL-309 with added inhibition. XL-1253 offers good burnish and inhibition especially in highly alkaline or very hard water. Its operating pH is 6.0-6.5. It is also available in a concentrate.

XL-1270 is a low foaming acid burnishing compound used primarily with steel media on white metals (esp. aluminum and stainless steel). Its operating pH is 4.5. XL-1270 offers good corrosion protection.

XL-1270LF is a version of XL-1270 with lower foaming characteristics. The low foaming version works well with hard metals such as stainless steel and titanium.

XL-1273 was designed as a mild version of XL-1270 to be used on aluminum parts with steel media. It is buffered to a higher, more neutral pH to slow down the acidic reaction. Must be treated with post inhibit dip.

XL-1278 was designed for use with steel media on stainless steel parts. It was developed based upon XL-1270 buffered to a lower pH. Must be treated with a post inhibit dip.

XL-1282 was developed to serve as a low foam version of XL-1253. It is a mild acid burnishing compound to be used with steel media on all metals. It contains extra inhibitors. XL-1282 will give short-term inhibition for parts and protect steel media overnight.

XL-1284 was designed based upon L-553 with added inhibitors. It was designed for use with steel media on all metals. XL-1284 does not offer as good cleaning capabilities as XL-1282 but offers better burnishing. It will give short-term inhibition for parts and protect steel media overnight.

XL-1292 was designed as a non-chelating acid burnishing compound to be used with all metals. Its unique design offers burnishing capabilities comparable to L-543 with absolutely no chelating agents added. As a result, heavy metals can be removed via standard effluent treatment. XL-1292 will give a bright finish on most metals including: steel, copper, brass, aluminum, and zinc. Although it was designed for use with steel media, XL-1292 can be used with ceramic or porcelain media. It must be treated with a post inhibition solution.

XL-1293 is a low-foaming, mild acid burnishing compound with good cleaning capabilities designed for use with steel media on all metals. It can be used as a flow-through compound (at 1-3 oz per gallon) or as a recirculating (Roto-Cycle) compound at 1-5%. XL-1293 because of its low-foaming characteristics can also be used as a spray wash to remove light oils.

XL-1298 is an acid burnishing compound specifically designed to be used with steel media on copper, but can be used on other metals as well. XL-1298 gives copper a distinct bright orange color. It must be treated with a post inhibit dip. It is available in a concentrate.

XL-1303 is a mild acid-burnishing compound designed for use with steel media on all metals. It gives zinc a particularly bright luster. XL-1303 is a very versatile compound that has excellent burnishing and cleaning capabilities and offers very good corrosion protection.

XL-1307 was developed as a cleaning and burnishing compound for a wide variety of metals. It will develop a bright lustrous finish on zinc, steel, copper, brass, aluminum and coin alloys.

XL-1307I is an acid-burnishing compound designed for use with steel media on steel, copper and brass. Along with excellent burnishing it removes scale and tarnish. It offers very good corrosion protection.

XL-1307IB is a version of XL-1307I with added biocide to inhibit biological growth.

XL-1307IHF is a high foaming version of XL-1307I. It was developed to clean and burnish a wide variety of metals while offering some corrosion protection. ROTO-BRITE® XL-1307IHF will develop a bright lustrous finish on zinc, steel, copper, brass, aluminum and coin alloys. Recommended usage rate is 1 ounce per gallon of water.

XL-1309 is a mild acid burnishing compound that was designed as a low-cost version of XL-1270 (to be used with steel media on aluminum parts). It also produces excellent burnish on zinc parts. XL-1309 does not offer as good corrosion protection as XL-1270.

XL-1312 Acid Burnisher designed to be used with steel media on all parts. It was designed like XL-309 with added burnishing and cleaning capabilities. It has medium to high foaming characteristics and offers very good rust protection.

XL-1314 Acid Burnisher designed to be used with steel media on all metals. XL-1314 contains no cationic surfactants, which can interfere with certain filter components. It has medium foaming qualities and offers good rust protection.

XL-1316I Acid Burnisher designed to be used with steel media on copper parts. It has increased descaling capabilities yet mild enough to be used with steel media. It offers some rust protection but post dip is recommended.

XL-1317 is designed as a mild acid burnisher to be used with steel media with all parts especially non ferrous. XL-1317 is formulated with citric acid and ammonia.

XL-1340 is designed as an acid-burnishing compound to be used specifically with steel media with yellow metals such as brass and bronze. It can also be used with other metals as well including copper, aluminum and steel. XL-1340 has a very good cleaning package comparable with L-555.

XL-1397 is a low foam cleaning/degreasing and burnishing agent for copper, brass, bronze and steel parts.

XL-1399 was developed as a cleaning and burnishing compound for a wide variety of metals. It will develop a bright lustrous finish on stainless steel, copper, brass, and aluminum. Not recommended for use on zinc or carbon steel. XL-1399LF2 is a low-foam version of this.