Tartaric acid is added to sulfuric acid anodizing baths to generate porous anodic film that provides corrosion resistance to practical aerospace alloys and reduces the environmental impact of the traditional chromic acid anodizing process. Here, a fundamental study on the effects of the addition of tartaric acid to the sulfuric acid anodizing electrolyte has been undertaken. During anodizing, it was evident that tartaric acid does not significantly affect the mechanism of porous film growth, but it reduces the growth rate of the porous anodic film. After anodizing, in acidic environments, it may reduce the dissolution rate of a previously formed oxide. Furthermore, it was found that in a nearly neutral, chloride-rich environment, tartaric acid limits the anodic reaction of aluminum dissolution at concentrations in the hundreds of ppm range. The previous suggests that the good anticorrosion performance of alloys anodized in the presence of tartaric acid is due to residues of tartaric acid in the pore solution.