Currently working on the Friction stir welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy and aiming to study texture in the joint. So, Kindly suggest the sample preparation in either of the cases.
Please see https://www.buehler.com/solutions.php and attached files.
Even if you do electropolishing, you still have to mechanically polish your sample. Electropolish is the final sample preparation step. Yet, your sample needs to be adequately polished prior to electro-polishing. So you would need to polish down to 0.05 micron. And then either vibration polish with 0.05 for 2 hours or do electropolishing as described in various papers. I hope that is clear.
In my experience, magnesium and it's alloys are some of the most difficult to polish due to the slip planes in the hexagonal structure, creating a smearing effect. I would recommend using an ion mill or a FIB after the polishing regimen Panos has suggested. Also, you need to think about the oxidation of alloy during polishing, as that will also effect the structure. Electropolishing normally takes a while to optimize parameters and solution chemistry.
If this doesn't help, Metallography: Principles and Practice by Vander Voort is an excellent resource.
We have had very good results with vibropolishing for magnesium and titanium alloys. Electropolishing can be used, but best quality was obtained with vibropolishing as the final preparation step.
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