I am trying to clean up a crankshaft from a briggs & stratton engine. It has aluminum melted on to it from a low oil condition and thrown rod.
I learned that Lye can be used to safely dissolve the aluminum and not hurt the steel. I also kind of understand that muriaic acid can do the same thing, but if left too long it can damage the journal.
Here's the problem, I can't find Lye anywhere (home depot, walmart, lowes, CVS) and I think its cause druggies use it for meth or something like that.
If I can't find lye, will the muriatic acid be ok? is there another chemical that attacks aluminum but is safe for steel?