Extending powder lifetime in additive manufacturing: Chemical etching of stainless steel spatter

•Chemical etching can eliminate most oxides from 316 L spatter.•A reduction in oxide coverage from 7–0.7% was possible.•Removal is thought to occur via initial dissolution of oxide-surrounding metal.•Etched spatter powder performed better in LPBF.•Reduced slag layer, and better wetting was seen for LPBF etched spatter.