The Effects of Acids on Surfaces

In general, it is possible to dissolve metals by putting them in a sufficiently strong acid. The reason this happens is because the acid is donating its protons to the metal in a sense. And what happens to the protons that the acids donated? Well, basically you get two protons that combine with each other forming hydrogen gas. So if you put some hydrochloric acid on your skin or something and see some bubbles, the bubbles are hydrogen gas. That's why they rise and fizz very quickly because they're very light.