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Removing Arctic Silver with IMS?

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dAvies.lOcker

Member
Joined
May 15, 2004
Location
Nottingham/London, UK
I realise this is an age old topic, but i was wondering whether 70% IMS (Industrial Methylated Spirits) could be used to remove old thermal grease? Or Acetone?

Isn't it at all similiar to rubbing alcohol?

If not, i will buy some of the Akasa TIM cleaner...the Arctic cleaner isnt out here in the UK.

I only ask cos there is loads of IMS and Acetone in the lab at uni, so wud save me a bit of cash if it could work.

Cheers

D/L
 
Acetone should work, and I don't think it would cause any problems (although I'd get a second opinion if I were you). The main thing to be careful with is that acetone, when sold as nail polish remover, often has perfumes and such added to it. I assume the lab acetone wouldn't have that, so no problem.
 
Acetone can/will damage plastics, so be careful. The coating over on the core itself is a type of resin if I remember correctly, so it shouldn't matter. It's fine on the heatsink.

Like previouslly mentioned, stay away from fingernail polish remover. Industrial stuff from hardware stores and such isn't all the pure, but fine.

Oh yea, i'm a chemist..

Dayton
 
I've always used goo gone and regular alcohol to clean my CPUs. I've experimented wit different things, Acetone, break cleaner, you name it. But Goo Gone works the best, is easy to find, and will never damage a cpu. It does small like oranges, so, I use the alcohol to remove an that may be left beind.
 
Goof Off is a good xylene, but it smells pretty bad...

it takes off EVERYTHING though.. don't use it on the cpu though, its better for heatsinks only (works for CPUs, but its good to get an alcohol run after u use goof off on CPUs)

edit: woops, i wrote goof off as an acetone... its xylene, use goof off =P
 
I just use 99% (or whatever I think it was 99%) apsorpal (sp?) alcohol and it cleaned everything up just fine. Just take a q-tip, dip it in and start scrubbing.
 
yah acetone will be fine i used the pure disenfectant acetone and it was good. When i was desperate i used the nail varnish remover :p it worked fine and no change in temps
 
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