Abstract: A method of controlling bulk absorption of atomic hydrogen and facilitating degassing of hydrogen from aluminum alloy workpieces during heat treatments in furnaces with ambient and/or moisture-laden atmospheres to prepare for fabrication in sequential working stages, the method includes exposing the surface of the workpieces to an etching process after each or any of the sequential working stages, and subjecting the workpieces to a final etch treatment using an inorganic alkaline or acidic etch solution modified by an addition of five to twenty-five weight percent transition metal chloride salt before being subjected to said heat treatment. The workpieces exposed to the transition metal chloride salt modified etch solution are subjected to the heat treatment. The etch solution is used to substantially decrease the amount of atomic hydrogen entering the bulk of the workpieces and to facilitate removal of atomic and molecular hydrogen from the bulk of the workpieces during the heat treatment.