thermal compund cleaner

[Vermonter]

Local supermarket Hannaford's has 91 % isopropyl alcohol so does Walmart.

[jgis19]

I actually use Artic Clean & the companion prep solution,have done three CPU,HSF installs & it is great. For the price I would imagine a person could use it about twenty times so it appears to me to cost effective.

[CommandrX]

Thought I'd through in my 2 cents here.

I have been using Electrical Cleaner available at your local Radio Shack. Stuff works great at removing a good majority of the thermal compounds out there including the AS5. It also removes oxidation build up from aluminum and copper thus making a nice clean surface for applying AS5 to. Another fact is it does not leave any residue behind

[specmike]

Originally Posted by CommandrX

Thought I'd through in my 2 cents here.

I have been using Electrical Cleaner available at your local Radio Shack. Stuff works great at removing a good majority of the thermal compounds out there including the AS5. It also removes oxidation build up from aluminum and copper thus making a nice clean surface for applying AS5 to. Another fact is it does not leave any residue behind

I use the same stuff occasionally and also Berrymans B12 Chemtool which is known to cause cancer in lab rats. So, if you are a lab rat don't use it. The Berrymans like the Radio Shack cleaner does not leave a residue behind like some brake parts cleaners, gunk removers, etc. So be careful not to use anything that will leave a residue behind.

[Ford Freak]

Originally Posted by specmike

I use the same stuff occasionally and also Berrymans B12 Chemtool which is known to cause cancer in lab rats. So, if you are a lab rat don't use it.

[fvineyard]

I must also comment on Performance PC's and the great job on each and every order I have placed with them. They are definitely in my browser's favorite list.

[ScuzziOne]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

before buying the Arctic Clean product I dabbled in buying a bottle of denatured alcohol (which I heard was the absolute best thermal compund cleaner)...but after reading the Warning label I got scared off...basically it tells you that the product can blow up your house as it can ignite very easily...the fumes remain in the air for about an hour after you use the product and you cannot smell the fumes...things such as pilot lights and any electrical device can ignite the alcohol as it contains 0% water I believe...

Have used denatured alcohol for many purposes for many years. It works quite well and I have yet to blow up my house or my garage with the stuff. I was even using a heat gun in the garage to apply sound dampening material to automotive surfaces cleaned with denatured alocohol just prior to the installation. No bang.

As always, this is just my 2 cents and your mileage may vary... but I think you're being overly cautious.

Now, if you want something to worry about, go pick yourself out any garden variety pesticide with DANGER on the label and do a little research on what the DANGER moniker implies. Suffice it to say that irreversible blindness due to lens opacity is something that scares the hell out of me... much more than the fumes from denatured alcohol. Funny thing is, people run out of the hardware stores with this stuff on a regular basis without ever having a clue to the true dangers they are subjecting themselves. Funny thing is, the labels on pesticides don't really put all the details out there for fear of scarring you off. "Seek immediate medical attention..." You got that right, just don't necessarily expect that they'll be able to do much for you! Now that's scarry!! LOL!!!

Oh yeah, and I'm currently using the Arctic MX-2 ceramic based thermal compound as opposed to the Arctic Silver 5 compound. One of the big selling points to me is that the MX-2 is non-conductive, unlike the AS5. This alleviates some of my concerns with making sure I'm not using too much compound which will ooze out from between the heatsink and thermal surface, possibly contacting electrical vias, traces, and so forth. I know, it shouldn't be a concern if applied properly, but I've seen a lot of excessive thermal compound applications over the years...

As for cleaning, another trick I've tried and been quite satisfied with is to use Mother's Metal Polish for the initial cleanup and then follow up with the denatured alcohol to remove any residue from the polish. Don't have any scientific analysis to argue for or against doing this, so decide for yourself whether this is a good or bad idea...