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DOES NITRIC ACID WORK ON ALUMINUM ?

I WANT TO ASK IF NITRIC ACID WILL WORK (ETCH)ON ALUMINIUM. OR ferric chloride ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] . I AM TRYING TO DO SOME ARTWORK ON letter SIZE PLATES. SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH , I AM WRITING FROM TIJUANA, MEXICO. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.........

SERGIO VILLA
HOBBYIST - TIJUANA, MEXICO
2006

2006

Concentrated Nitric acid won't etch Aluminum.
I think lower concentration may etch Aluminium.
But if you intention is Aluminium etching, I think it will be easier if you use 20% of Sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.

Schanizan Shamsuddin
- Kuala Langat, Selangor, Malaysia

Any hydroxide will work but they tend to also etch any photoresist layers. Use ~15% nitric acid and ~85% phosphoric acid. Nitric acid dissolves the aluminum oxide surface layer and phosphoric acid etches the cleanly exposed aluminum.

This mixture is used for micrometer and smaller scale etching of aluminum.

Jeffrey C. Andle
- Westbrook, Maine
2006

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