Cleaning Liquid metal thermal paste??

[Mango1970]

Ok so I had ordered a tube of that liquid thermal stuff a while back. I used it and I fried my board as I let it leak on my mobo. I vowed never to use it again and went back to AC5.

I was working on a test system I had lying around and decided to push my luck and this time I applied it correctly and it's working very well. Question however... when I need to do some changes... how the HELL am I to clean this stuff? does it dry up like AC5 and I can simply wipe it clean with some alcohol? Or does it remain liquidy the way it was when i applied it? If that is the case I am screwed... as it's going to fall in all over the cpu socket and stuff. Man this stuff should be banned LOL.

Anyhow use this stuff and have cleaned it off successfully>?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

never used it personally but, from what i understand it stays liquidy so you'll want to remove your HSF with the case laying down and clean it off with a coffee filter and some alcohol.

 

[Mango1970]

ahh coffee filter... dang good idea. I use just plain paper towels so figure the coffee filters should "grab" better. What was I thinking. However I have to admit the temps are very good with this stuff. Then again the bright side is that I just might have to upgrade to a newer mobo and cpu ;p

 

[Zepper]

Coffee filter is lint free - that's why we use it. It is probably less absorbent than PT.

.bh.

 

[aigomorla]

wait wait wait wait..

what is the name of this tim?

is it coolit liquid pro? the liquid metal stuff? because if it is, you need to wear gloves b4 you touch it. Its not as bad as mercury, but the compound is made of gallium. As safty you should wear gloves when you handle that stuff.

Now with that said, i would pull your sink off NOW if its liquid pro. That stuff has a BAD habbit of bonding to your sink and cpu making them almost impossible to pull off over time and usage.

The sooner you pull it off, the easier it will be.

Give it around 6 months, the only way to get rid of your board is to sell it as a cpu sink board combo.

 

[olmer]

1 week to take cooler out together with cpu. 3 degrees are not worth the pain for me.

Seriously ? you may need to heat it up a bit, pads are the biggest pain. Run some cpu-intensive benches to get highest temp/stop fan for a short while and while still hot (keep the case open ? cools very fast) gently twist the cooler off. Remove it ASAP ? my advise. If you have problems with a residue ? lap it ? do not try to solder it off unless you know what you are doing with your iron.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Wow, thats a little terrifying.

PS, you can handle mercury with no gloves, it's not the liquid itself thats dangerous, it's the vapors, mercury poisoning only comes in the from of inhalation, some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

 

[superstition]

As far as I know, gallium is non-toxic. Just because it looks like mercury doesn't mean it's toxic. And, no, it won't "dry up".

 

[superstition]

some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

Crazy people, perhaps. That reminds me of Faulker's As I Lay Dying where they put wet concrete on a guy's broken leg.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: superstition

some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

Crazy people, perhaps. That reminds me of Faulker's As I Lay Dying where they put wet concrete on a guy's broken leg.

theoretically that would be a perfect stint if it was all you had available.

 

[superstition]

theoretically that would be a perfect stint if it was all you had available.

Read the book.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

People use to also put arsenic on their skin to keep it white/pale... That was before they realized they were killing themselves.... Ahh, the good old 16-18th centuries. We also use to "bleed" ourselves of several pints of "bad blood" if we got a flu back then...

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Wow, thats a little terrifying.

PS, you can handle mercury with no gloves, it's not the liquid itself thats dangerous, it's the vapors, mercury poisoning only comes in the from of inhalation, some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

I thought that Mercury could be absorbed through the skin.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Fallen Kell

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

People use to also put arsenic on their skin to keep it white/pale... That was before they realized they were killing themselves.... Ahh, the good old 16-18th centuries. We also use to "bleed" ourselves of several pints of "bad blood" if we got a flu back then...

True but, the mercury drinking is actually done now and is a fairly common homeopathic treatment. Had it suggested to me for an ulcer but passed.

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Wow, thats a little terrifying.

PS, you can handle mercury with no gloves, it's not the liquid itself thats dangerous, it's the vapors, mercury poisoning only comes in the from of inhalation, some people actually drink small amounts of mercury for ulcers.

I thought that Mercury could be absorbed through the skin.

only through open pores or an open wound and the pores on your palm are quite small in comparison to other places so the ammount absorbed would be minimal and not nearly enough to cause any real harm unless you just put a big puddle in your palm and let it sit there. I know back in the day in college chemistry classes we would roll a ball of it around in our hand just cause it was pretty bitchin. I've handled it a few times since when using it in lateral G fuses and other systems.

 

[Mango1970]

Well I am still alive. However... aigomorla you were right. The thing was pretty well bonded to the cooler.
I heated up the CPU using Prime for about 30 min. Then turned it off as quickly as possible and removed. It was stuck but a few twists and it finally came off. What a pain!!!
Since both the CPU and heatsink were lapped.... I just pretty much lappped them again to get that stuff off -- there was no amount of rubbing that would take it of. I back on AC5. Screw that... never ever using that stuff again LOL. However the temps were good.

 

[superstition]

If you're not planning on removing a heatsink and don't apply too much (to avoid spillage), it seems to me that the bonding isn't an issue. If anything it improves heat conduction. Just make sure you don't use an aluminum sink.

homeopathic treatment.

And there is a big sign pointing.

Drinking mercury is absolutely positively idiotic.