[mds33200]

Hi, I was wondering the best chemical to use to dissolve steel from aluminum. *Note- I am pretty sure the metals are steel vs aluminum, but I am not 100% sure. I was just going to test it and see if it works but figured I would post here first.

Basically the aluminum item is a cell phone frame (Motorola droid)  so I assume they make the frame from aluminum. I believe the screws are steel (but not positive) all I know is they are magnetic and they stripped very easily because they were loctghted in (loctite was used on a few of the screws when the manufacturer assembled the phone). I figured I would use some acid to see if that’s strong enough to dissolve the screws that are remaining. I used a screw extractor to remove them but the screws are so small that the head of the screws broke off upon extraction so I cant put another screw back in place till I remove the broken remains of the original screw.  I looked some chemicals up and the following were suggested: hydrochloric acid, Nitric acid, Sulfuric acid. What would be the best chemical to try (and easiest to obtain in a small quantity)?
Thanks!

[Borek]

Acids will dissolve both screws and aluminum, you will need something way more fancy. My bet would be something oxidizing to oxidize iron, with something complexing (to remove the iron), and working around neutral pH (to not dissolve aluminum oxide).

[vmelkon]

I've heard that nitric acid doesn't attack aluminum. It would attack steel.

As for your cellphone's body, it could be a magnesium alloy (>90% Mg). The only way to find out is to give nitric acid a try.

[Fluoroantimonicacid]

I've heard that nitric acid doesn't attack aluminum. It would attack steel.

As for your cellphone's body, it could be a magnesium alloy (>90% Mg). The only way to find out is to give nitric acid a try.

He is right, nitric acid doesn't dissolve aluminum,because aluminum has got a thin film of Al₂O₃.