cleaning parts ideas ?

ok I know ketchup is good for cleaning up copper blocks but is there and if so anything good for cleaning up the plastic parts? The Clear parts of water blocks, reservoir... ect...ect.

Looking to try and remove or reduces dye stains in some parts so I can either reuse them or clean for selling them with out hurting them.


All home concoctions are welcome & appreciated.

If possible I dismantle them and wipe out with a cloth.

while i've never tried it, or would, aluminum polish seemed to work for this guy. http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/661766-trick-remove-dye-stain.html

dishwasher soap may work for plastic parts.

ok well after testing everything I got on hand Vinegar seems to be working the best. its a slow process but every 10 mins or so i got in and scrub it and more and more comes off........ it will be clean my nights end.

As for cleaning a res you guys think I should hook up a loop and run vinegar through the whole loop that might clean on the radiator and res at same time?

Yeah I'm a little late, but most people will use vinegar and even give the part a vinegar Bath for a 1/2 an hour or so.

you can try a vinegar loop, but dilute it to 25% or so. to much and you can eat into your rad and blocks. if the water has turned blue green you've added to much or left it for to long.

rads where the main thing that needed such a cleaning but they now use water based flux so hot soapy water cleans it out without eating at the copper.

so you mean 75%water 25% Vinegar right? Also how long is too long, a hr, a few hr's over night?

correct, hour at most. more like 1/2 an hour. see how things are and if you need more time just do it again.

or try some hot soapy water.

here is a good guide for cleaning parts.


http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=631501 - though i personally take my blocks apart to inspect for anything.

I like to use a pinch of salt with my vinegar solution but other than that you've got some good advise there. The added salt is why ketchup tends to work well but don't ask me why, I'm not a chemist.


The aluminum polish should work well for everything just be sure to rinse very thoroughly while rubbing the part and buff it dry. You don't want any of that stuff getting loose inside a loop since it is an abrasive, albeit a very mild one. For most things it wouldn't matter but a constantly running loop will eventually wish the polish into the water mix if you miss any.


Not much you can do (that I know of) with stained plastic if it's inside a res ...