The chemical polishing of aluminum and aluminum alloys is based on a solution of 70% (mass percentage) phosphoric acid. The commonly used mixture is a mixture of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid, with a sulfuric acid content of 9% when the alloy composition changes. The content of nitric acid varies between 3% and 9%. Due to the working temperature of around 105 ℃, a large amount of nitrogen oxides are produced, polluting the environment. Therefore, based on the mixture of phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid, S-type acid copper brightener was used as an additive to produce a yellow smoke free chemical polishing process. But this non yellow smoke chemical polishing is only suitable for pure aluminum or aluminum magnesium alloys, and has poor effects on other aluminum alloys. Later, a formula with only 2% nitric acid was introduced, which also used similar additives but did not expand its applicability. However, to this day, the mixture of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid is still the mainstream formula due to its strong adaptability.

Aluminum alloys with high copper and zinc content, adding 2-5g/L chromic anhydride during chemical polishing can be helpful. The manual states that aluminum alloys with high silicon content should be chemically polished using a mixture of 60-65mL/L nitric acid, 15-20mL/L hydrofluoric acid, and 1-2mL/L glycerol at room temperature for 2 seconds. However, this method is more like etching.

There is also a formula containing acetic acid, suitable for pure aluminum and 2A12 (LYl2): Acetic acid has a better effect on preventing pitting corrosion.