Methods for electropolishing and coating aluminum on air and/or moisture sensitive substrates

A method for electropolishing a surface of an air and/or moisture sensitive substrate, the method comprising:

• in a vessel, submerging the substrate in a first molten salt bath at a first temperature and applying an anodizing current to the substrate to electropolish the surface of the substrate;
• wherein the substrate comprises one or more or more of zirconium, hafnium, thorium, uranium, plutonium, manganese, a rare earth metal (La—Lu), yttrium, magnesium, lithium, and their alloys;
• wherein the first molten salt bath comprises a first inorganic salt bath;
• wherein the first inorganic salt bath comprises aluminum halide and alkali metal halide;
• wherein the anodizing current is 10-30 mA/cm2;
• and
• further comprising, subsequent to electropolishing the surface of the substrate, coating the electropolished surface of the substrate with aluminum,
• wherein coating the electropolished surface of the substrate with aluminum comprises discontinuing the anodizing current and allowing the electropolished substrate to dwell in the first molten salt bath such that the electropolished surface of the substrate is coated with aluminum.