First off, I wish more developers had this problem., not because software would end up being released later than expected but because it would likely be a higher-quality release.

If you are exceeding your own original estimates, perhaps you need to include your "gold-plating" steps as part of your estimates. If they are not your own estimates, perhaps you should be involved in formulating them.

In any case, if you have a release deadline you should stick to it. Any "gold-plating" should be left as a final step that shouldn't hold up a release. If you absolutely feel it must be included as part of a release, consider adding the "gold-plating" on your own time (i.e. outside of working hours).

What you should do is bring up your "gold-plating" steps to your team and/or management and discuss why you feel they are important. If you can convince them that these steps are beneficial, they should become part of future releases.

First off, I wish more developers had this problem, not because software would end up being released later than expected but because it would likely be a higher-quality release.

If you are exceeding your own original estimates, perhaps you need to include your "gold-plating" steps as part of your estimates. If they are not your own estimates, perhaps you should be involved in formulating them.

In any case, if you have a release deadline you should stick to it. Any "gold-plating" should be left as a final step that shouldn't hold up a release. If you absolutely feel it must be included as part of a release, consider adding the "gold-plating" on your own time (i.e. outside of working hours).

What you should do is bring up your "gold-plating" steps to your team and/or management and discuss why you feel they are important. If you can convince them that these steps are beneficial, they should become part of future releases.