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cleaning your heatsink?

J

jepylu

n00b
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
11
Does anybody know a good way to clean the heatsink?
Im using an slk800 heatsink and its all dirty after a few months of use.
I tried using a toothbrush and soap, but it did not get the job done.
Any ideas?
TIA
 
If you mean the fins of the heatsink (which I'm guessing you're not, but I'll answer anyway), a can of compressed air will do the trick.

As far as the bottom goes, it depends on how bad it is. If it's not too bad, grab a bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol (or 70% would work also, but 91% is just stronger, so I use it instead), soak the bottom with it, and just rub away with your hand or something until it's clean.

If it's really bad, then out comes the sand paper. 800 grit (or starting with 600 or 400 if it's REALLY bad), 1000 grit, 1500 grit and 2000 grit wet sanding. Search google for a guide on lapping a heatsink. If all else fails, that WILL take off anything.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. But how about the hard to reach areas of the heatsink? In between the fins? The dirt is really stuck there and compressed air couldnt get rid of it.
Will dipping it in alcohol do the job?
 
jepylu said:
Thanks for the suggestion. But how about the hard to reach areas of the heatsink? In between the fins? The dirt is really stuck there and compressed air couldnt get rid of it.
Will dipping it in alcohol do the job?
Click to expand...

Sounds like it's pretty messed up. I've personally never had this problem, so some of these ideas might seem stupid, but here's what comes to mind right away...

Take the thing outside, grab a garden hose, turn it on full blast, and put your thumb over the end of the hose to make the water spray with quite a bit of force, then try "blasting" the dirt out.

I don't own this heatsink, so I don't quite know the spacing of the fins, but it might be possible to take something thin (ie, a straightened paper clip) and run it between each fin to help scrape the dirt out...

Personally, I'd pull out our pressure washer we use for cleaning the tall sides of the house/blasting pool filters clean, fire it up, and hope I don't break any fins off with the force of the water coming out, but that's just me :p
 
Water will cause future oxidization. Acetone and or xylene are the best way to clean your HS. If you have to buy one I'd say the xylene. Just follow up with 90% pure IPA or greater to remove any residue. As for the bottom I used toothpaste to remove the discoloration I got when I used Nanotherm PCM+.
 
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