I have a decorative piece of copper with a rough surface which, due to it's fabrication process, has some embedded aluminum particles in the copper surface.
I cannot remove the aluminum from the copper surface by grinding or polishing because it would damage the decorative nature of the piece.
After giving it some thought I remembered that an aqueous solution of copper sulfate and salt (non-iodized) is a very effective way to etch aluminum.
My theory is that if I submerge this piece of copper which contains embedded aluminum particles into an aqueous solution of copper sulfate and salt that the decorative copper surface will be unaffected, but the aluminum will react to form aluminum sulfate and loose copper particles thus permanently removing the aluminum from the copper surface.
Am I overlooking any potentially dangerous reactions by simultaneously combining copper, copper sulfate, aluminum, and salt, or does this sound like a safe and viable solution?
