Quote Originally Posted by ElEctric_EyE View Post
My beef with your pics is what you have posted here is a Cu top, not Al. And so I have a beef with your explanation as well, cuz it doesn't jive. Here are some pics of an unused Al top from an Apogee GTX. I wasn't about to put it in my loop even though they are coated... Now if the top was Cu and you're saying Al "electromigrated" onto the Cu to make it look silverish, you're wrong. As far as I understand, under normal circumstances (translate not electroplating), ions will migrate to the strongest conductor. The pics you provided look like Al migration onto the Cu, or Calcium deposits from the hard water.
BTW I am not Gabe, but I would like to read his opinion.
Sorry, but that is what the Al top looks like when the dye comes off. Cobalt is almost a bronze color and when mixed with zinc, it becomes a bit more grayish.

I'm still not sold that either of these are straight up corrosion. Petra admitted that the owner of that top was brain dead and added tap water. Tap water is different in every area, and who knows what sort of crap is floating in the water that that user used. Who knows what else they did to it that they don't want to admit to?