Hey so I am getting tired of the white junk around my aluminum welds, but yet I like the idea of the cleaning action and understand its benefits. My welding supply/sales guy told me it will just rub off with a rag (not true), is there a chemical or easy method to remove it? I don't want to polish or scotch brite it out of all of my parts...I dig bright untouched look of good clean aluminum. Sometimes there will even be some brown discoloration with the white, and it is especially hard to remove. Thanks in advance.

 

Walnut shell blasting works wonders but its a pain. Ive tried acid cleaning but it leaves the aluminum dull.

 

It's a breeze with red scotchbrite. Just cut it into thin strips and carefully slide it along the edge of the weld. Comes off in a few swipes and looks alot cleaner.

 

The black **** is from contamination in the weld, you need to prep better for that. I find that adjusting the AC balance will cut down on the etched part, but of course you don't want it at 100% penetration. I'm not sure since I don't have one, but from what I've seen inverters are a little better at not leaving a huge white zone next to the weld.