I'm sure you know more about it than me its just I've never seen anything Aluminum rust in. Maybe its the other metals in the alloy doing the oxidizing? I cut and pasted this from encarta.com it states; "In contact with air, aluminum rapidly becomes covered with a tough, transparent(<-key word here) layer of aluminum oxide that resists further corrosive action. For this reason, materials made of aluminum do not tarnish or rust." I have some 10 year old aluminum cylinder heads that are exposed to extremly high heat, sub-degree temps, and moisture and there isnt a bit of oxidation on them. Yes aluminum is pretty soft(so is paper) but combine it with titanium one of the strongest and lightest metals and you have a heck of a alloy. Titanium wont rust or tarnish either if im not mistaken.
This message has been edited by Jolly Roger on 02-01-2002 at 09:00 AM