ArctiClean by Arctic Silver

[Ksyder]

Picked up some of this stuff when I was at Fry's recently.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arcticlean.htm

Anyways, me and some friends are speculating on what it is. We are guessing it is nothing more than Goo Gone in bottle 1 and maybe pure isopropyl alcohol in bottle 2?

Arctic Silver is claiming some proprietary formulas and it doesn't seem to exactly say what is in the bottle. I guess that means they just want to charge more for it. For the $6 I paid for that 2 step cleaning kit I could have got a big bottle of Goo Gone and some sort of 99% pure alcohol.

Thanks to PottedMeat below for adding the MSDS data below

I suppose the question now is, is it better than other methods of cleaning the cpu?

 

[PottedMeat]

MSDS Says -

Bottle 2:
Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether
Azole-Triazole Inhibitor
Proprietary Inhibitor (non-Hazmat, TSCA listed)

Bottle 1:
D-Limonene
Methyl Esters of Soybean Oil
Non-Ionic Surfactant


$6 would get you a big metal can of MEK or aceone.

 

[Gustavus]

Trichlorethylene is a universal good thing for cleaning. It was widely used for removing the flux after wave soldering printed circuit boards and is safe for cleaning almost any electronics -- especially thermal compound from CPUs and heatsinks. It will not damage the etched printing on CPUs, but may remove stenciled printing on other items, so a test with a dampened Q-tip is recommended if you are removing goop from a component with printing you don't wish to damage. I repeat -- trichlor is a universal good thing. No workbench should be without it.

 

[Axon]

That friggin' orange smell gets into everything, so keep it in a box or a plastic bag

 

[NickelPlate]

I've used acetone or denatured alcohol in the past. Either of which works fine.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

That friggin' orange smell gets into everything, so keep it in a box or a plastic bag

Smells pretty good to me =p

 

[Spikesoldier]

isopropyl alcohol works really well and is my primary choice. however you do encounter some compounds that it doesnt work very well against, (AS ceramique) so you got to use the orange stuff (goo gone).

that 1-2 combination takes care of 100% of the compounds ive encountered so far, although the isopropyl takes care of 95% of them.

 

[faxon]

yea this stuff eats through thermal pads that isopropanol wont dissolve if you soak them overnight. only thing i have used that is more effective is acetone, and that stuff leaves marks on the pavement if i spill it outside lol

 

[bigboxes]

I just use 91% isopropyl for most usage. I have some 100% acetone for the others. Both are relatively cheap.

 

[nyker96]

Smells pretty good to me =p

just don't drink it up :]

 

[zerocool84]

I've used 90% alcohol for years and just recently bought the ArtiClean to see how it worked and it worked really well. A lot easier to clean and get rid of everything than just alcohol. It sure was more expensive though but pretty much got rid of everything with little effort but certainly not worth the price.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

isopropyl alcohol works really well and is my primary choice. however you do encounter some compounds that it doesnt work very well against, (AS ceramique) so you got to use the orange stuff (goo gone).

Seconded, although I use analytical grade IPA

 

[aigomorla]

$6 would get you a big metal can of MEK or aceone.

+1

It would basically do the same thing.

Even 91% alcohol will evaporate at room temp.

The thing is you dont want a water droplet on the cpu, which is why we recomend a low boiling temp solvant.

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) is a good choice, and so is acetone.
But these guys SMELL....

You can also use 91% rubbing alcohol.

Make sure u dont leave lint on top of the cpu either.

 

[zerocool84]

Make sure u dont leave lint on top of the cpu either.

I always spray the heatsink/cpu with compressed air after I clean it to make sure I got everything off. I usually clean it with a coffee filter since they're dirt cheap and lint free.

 

[Axon]

just don't drink it up :]

Om nom nom nom nom

....

::thud::

 

[SunnyD]

+1

It would basically do the same thing.

Even 91% alcohol will evaporate at room temp.

The thing is you dont want a water droplet on the cpu, which is why we recomend a low boiling temp solvant.

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) is a good choice, and so is acetone.
But these guys SMELL....

You can also use 91% rubbing alcohol.

Make sure u dont leave lint on top of the cpu either.

The big problem with most "common" sources of MEK or acetone are the fact that they have dyes in them. When the solvent evaporates, traces of the dyes are left, which is bad for your thermal contact surface. That and MEK should never be handled by a smoker. EVER.

 

[PottedMeat]

The big problem with most "common" sources of MEK or acetone are the fact that they have dyes in them. When the solvent evaporates, traces of the dyes are left, which is bad for your thermal contact surface. That and MEK should never be handled by a smoker. EVER.

Hmm, I've used this: http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=21&prodid=103

Where would it say the dye content? The MSDS only says MEK. I know not to use the 'nail polish remover' type of acetone, even when it says 'pure acetone' because they sometimes put in disinfectants.




...and you're talking about not letting a person with a lit cigarette handle MEK right?

 

[tweakboy]

Ill stick to alchohol or icetone

thx

 

[Moonzi]

I actually need to clean off some compound tonight from the chip and heat sink.

I've been told to use the 91% rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.

I'm worried about using a cotton ball, any other suggestions I can buy with the rubbing alcohol tonight or is that fine?

 

[aigomorla]

I actually need to clean off some compound tonight from the chip and heat sink.

I've been told to use the 91% rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.

I'm worried about using a cotton ball, any other suggestions I can buy with the rubbing alcohol tonight or is that fine?

coffee filters.

Its the cheapest to disposable lint free you'll get.

 

[iluvdeal]

The ArtiClean stuff works great for me. When removing old compound with just alcohol, I'd still visually see some compound stains left on the CPU. The ArtiClean stuff, bottle 1 to be specific, gets rid of it. However, there was this one finger print mark that I couldn't get out with anything on my last build. I googled around and the overall consensus was it was fine to ignore the fingerprint.

 

[aigomorla]

The ArtiClean stuff works great for me. When I removing old compound with just alcohol, I'd still visually see some compound stains left on the CPU. The ArtiClean stuff, bottle 1 to be specific, gets rid of it. However, there was this one finger print mark that I couldn't get out with anything on my last build. I googled around and the overall consensus was it was fine to ignore the fingerprint.

u could always lap your processor.

 

[Moonzi]

coffee filters.

Its the cheapest to disposable lint free you'll get.

alright, so any coffee filter will do?

Thanks I'll buy them tonight.

 

[Ika]

I always thought MEK was bad for you? We used it at the lab I used to work at, but everyone told me to wear heavy gloves and glasses or even a face shield when using it, and to not get it on your skin.

Acetone, on the other hand, I love me some. Ever since my dad brought some home to get Sharpie out of a yellow hoodie I had I've been basically in love with it. I'm also really glad we get a big bottle of it to use in Organic Lab I, I wash EVERYTHING with it.