[ericandrews]

I remember reading at some crazy scientists website  if you smear mercury on aluminium it interferes with the oxide coating and the Al just oxidises away.

I tried it just now in my lab and the mercury can not be smeared, it forms balls and rolls away, no interfering of oxidising occured on the aluminium surface. I thought maybe the mercury is coating in oil of some type and washed it in solvent, still nothing. I tried sanding the aluminium surface and then putting mercury on it. still nothing !

The crazy scientists website said americans would try and smear mercury onto aircraft of the nazis. Well I sure as hell don't know how they could have, and come to think of it the aircraft would have been painted anways.

[jdurg]

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967,693558,00.html

All you have to do is make a fine areosol of the mercury.  It will stick.  Trust me.

[Borek]

Try to put some mercury between two pieces of aluminium and rub them. Should work.

Are you using pure aluminium or some alloy? Seems pure aluminium is much more prone to this kind of oxidation.