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Cleaning chip off before sell

D

donahue

Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2004
Messages
807
I just parted out my PC and I am selling the mobo and processor separately but when I took the heatsink off the processor the sticky goo from AS5 was left. How do I get this off without harming processor/heatsink? Thanks.
 
Pick up a bottle of isopropyl alcohol from your local grocery/drug store. It is like $1.00 or $2.00? lol Either way, its a great cleaning tool that you will have plenty of for a dollar or so. This is what most people use.

And no, you dont "need" 99% alcohol. My isopropyl that I have used for years has always been whatever I find first and cheapest, which is the 70% stuff. It works great.
 
Really. Im not sure how it left any residue. What are you using to clean it off(wipe) it with?
I just use paper towels and I definitely never see any residue left over....

As if some residue left over made any difference whatsoever anyways. :p
 
Totally OT, but I just wanted to share that I first read the thread title as "Cleaning the ship before set sail." I was like.. WTF. :D
 
When I use 70% to clean electronics it will leave little bits of water on them. Best to go with 99.
 
You might try using the edge of a credit card to scrape the majority of it off first, then hit it with the alcohol. I find that works much better/faster (especially when it's a baked-on thermal pad you need to remove.
 
cigaret lighter fluid (naptha), lacquer thinner or acetone (nail polish remover) disolves as5 and tim's. alcohol just kind of swishes it around.
 
Goo Gone works perfect for me everytime. I have one bottle just for this purpose.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
cigaret lighter fluid (naptha), lacquer thinner or acetone (nail polish remover) disolves as5 and tim's. alcohol just kind of swishes it around.
Click to expand...

Those all leave behind a residue that hampers the next application of thermal paste's efficiency... hence the alcohol recommendations as it dissolves and leaves nothing behind.
 
Retsam said:
Pick up a bottle of isopropyl alcohol from your local grocery/drug store. It is like $1.00 or $2.00? lol Either way, its a great cleaning tool that you will have plenty of for a dollar or so. This is what most people use.

And no, you dont "need" 99% alcohol. My isopropyl that I have used for years has always been whatever I find first and cheapest, which is the 70% stuff. It works great.
Click to expand...

my 91% isopropyl alcohol for 3 dollars from walgreens works great. =).
 
GoldenTiger said:
Those all leave behind a residue that hampers the next application of thermal paste's efficiency... hence the alcohol recommendations as it dissolves and leaves nothing behind.
Click to expand...


He's right if their other other ingredients in the product you buy. AFAIK most naptha's shouldn't have any other additives.
Some very strong things you can buy that I know have no additives are:

HEET (Red bottle) Min 98% Isopropyl alcohol (rest is water)
HEET (Yellow bottle) Min 98% Methanol (rest is water)
Drygas is another variety w/o other additives

All in the Auto parts section

Acetone from tool store (double check the label to make sure it's not "denatured" of any type).
Nail polish has too many other ingredients like butylketones and possibly oils.
 
I either use WD-40 or Brake Parts Cleaner, or Engine Degreaser. All work well.
Just do not use the Brake parts cleaner on flimsy plastic, but works safely on PCB.
 
Instructions from Artic Silver:
Never use heat or hot water to remove the pad, as heat will melt the wax into the heatsink. Take care not to scratch the surface of the heatsink when removing the pad, a plastic tool is recommended in the removal of thermal pads or other thermal interface material. You can then optimally remove the remnants of the wax or other thermal interface material by using ArctiClean 1 and 2. You can adequately clean the remnants with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) or high-purity isopropyl alcohol. If you use Goof off or xylene based cleaners always follow up with a cleaning of high-purity isopropyl alcohol afterwards.
NEVER use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus oil based cleaners and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound
Click to expand...

@montypythizzle i hope you read this.
 
Warl0rd said:
Instructions from Artic Silver:

@montypythizzle i hope you read this.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was about to say "WD-40?"

That seemed crazy to me, but I refrained from saying anything. Oil based. You do have to be careful using some car part cleaners as some have oils in them not listed on the can. Usually, in most cases a search for the msds will show this hidden lubricant. For example, most starting fluid only lists diethyl ether and something other solvent like heptane. But if you take the whole can and spray it into a jar, evaporate it, you'll be left with an oily residue. Sometimes you can test this by spotting the liquid onto a mirror and allowing to evaporate.
 
scwam said:
Yeah, I was about to say "WD-40?"

That seemed crazy to me, but I refrained from saying anything. Oil based. You do have to be careful using some car part cleaners as some have oils in them not listed on the can. Usually, in most cases a search for the msds will show this hidden lubricant. For example, most starting fluid only lists diethyl ether and something other solvent like heptane. But if you take the whole can and spray it into a jar, evaporate it, you'll be left with an oily residue. Sometimes you can test this by spotting the liquid onto a mirror and allowing to evaporate.
Click to expand...

Eh never had a hard time, I know it will degrade TIM, if directly applied, but never had a problem other wise.
 
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