Cleaning copper

[ThePunkGeek]

what can i use to get scratches out of copper?
i was told brass cleaner would but i thought i would ask before i did it

[Intraveinous]

for deep scratches, very fine (600+, I'd prolly use 800 grit) sand paper and some slightly soapy water.
for fine scratches, Brasso works pretty well, but it also leaves a "Protectant Layer" that you may want to wash off with some dish soap and water.
Peace
John

[rivercom9]

Does the dish soap and water leave any residue? I usually use dish soap and water after lapping it then cleaning it with pure acetone just to make sure.

[Aesik]

It's generally best to wipe down the surface with isopropyl alcohol after any other type of cleaning agent is used. The alcohol will leave virtually no residue as other solvents tend to do.

[rivercom9]

Acetone works just as well as alcohol. We use it often in my chemistry classes to clean suff off without leaving a residue. Alcohol though is cheaper I think than acetone.

[UserName]

Acetone is also known as nail polish remover. Those who wear nail polish usually have a supply. It will tell you the concentration on the bottle. I don't think i would use it if it weren't 100% or close to it.

[rivercom9]

Oh yeah, look for 100% acetone. Thats what I use. Also, to get scratches out of copper, you may want to try some metal polish, such as "Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish" which is available at any auto stores like Pep Boys. It does a good job at removing some small scratches. I used it to polish my HS after lapping to a mirror shine. Make sure that you clean the base of the HS with alcohol or acetone before applying any kind of thermal compund in order to get rid of the leftover polish. It doesnt help you on your quest of getting better heat transfer. Hope this helps.

[JetMech]

At a motorcycle shpo you'll find a product called Semichrome polish. It is used by bikers to polish the crome and aluminum bike parts. This also works good for lapping if used with controlled pressure. An intelligent cleaning process is needed before applying thermal compound.

[Owenator]

I use fine steel wool to polish my copper waterblocks. Steel wool works good to get a shine but is not as good at lapping.

O

[res0r9lm]

neverdull works great

[rivercom9]

As you can see, there are many ways that you can get rid of scratches. As I said earlier, the polishes would work pretty well to get rid of slight scratches. However, for deeper ones, lapping is required in order to flatten it out.

[VegetaQ]

I don't know about polishing, Expecially with any kind of solution since you want a clean surface when you apply your heat transfer paste.

When I was performing the same endeavor to get the perfect HS contact I used 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1500 grit Sandpaper. That 1500 is about as good as it gets. I got a nice mirror finish (NO poslishing) on my Cheapy Dragon ORB 3. Then I used Pure Acetone I purchased at a local Home depot to get out any particles of copper dust/flakes that may have been left behind from sanding. I rubbed the artic silver 2 paste into the HS (To make sure to fill gaps) put a small amout on the CPU then I put everything back together. I did get about 2-5 Degrees C better on my temps than before. I suppose whatever works works. I just wanted to throw my expearence into the bucket.

[rivercom9]

I only polish because I have heard that polish just further "sands" down the area that you have lapped, making an even smoother surface. But I do make sure that I have removed all of the polish before I squirt on some thermal goop.

[rivercom9]

Have you ever tried 2000 grit? I haven't personally tried it, but if you have or will try, post your results.

[Intraveinous]

Skip the 2000 grit... you can just as easily use a piece of 24pound cotton blend laser paper... It's about the same... :-D
One nice thing about the 2000 grit though is that it stands up better to wet sanding than a piece of paper :D...
Oh wellz
Peace
John

[rivercom9]

If I polish after sanding, is it impossible to remove all of the polish? Should I not polish at all?

[diehrd]

want it to shine USE KETCHUP.VERY VERY OLD TESTED COPPER CLEANER.

[jbslow]

Originally posted by rivercom9
Have you ever tried 2000 grit? I haven't personally tried it, but if you have or will try, post your results.

Yes I use 2000 grip wet/dry sand paper (I do the wet sand) to lap my sk6 it ends up a really nice mirror finish every time.

If you have noticable marks on the hsf you may want to start out with 800-1200 grit paper so it wont take so long to finish dont go to low though cause you may have more scratches to remove then when you started.

[Holst]

Im another person who never polishes.

If you polish (especially with deeper scraches) you will make your heatsink less flat.

If you lapp you will keep the flatness of your heatsink.

Plus there is no ris of leaving any comtaminants or grease on the surface.

I also use 2000 grit although it wont give a much better finish than 1500, there is probably no performance advantage.