Cleaning thermal paste with hand sanitizer

[ganons]

Couldn't find any isopropyl alcohol in the local chemist so my bro bought a liquid based hand sanitizer. Is this good enough to remove stock thermal paste from a G3258?

It contains:
Alcohol Denat, Aqua (Water), Propylene Glycol, Carbomer, Triethanalomine, Parfum (Fragrance), Linalool.

 

[JackMDS]

The stuff that is in there to soften/protect the skin might leave some unwanted residue.

Clean it with sanitizer, dry it and then do additional thorough clean/dry with paper towel (like bounty).

 

[CoPhotoGuy]

Chemist? Uhh...can't just get this at a grocery store or pharmacy?

 

[lehtv]

CoPhotoGuy, chemist = pharmacy

 

[Cerb]

Couldn't find any isopropyl alcohol in the local chemist so my bro bought a liquid based hand sanitizer. Is this good enough to remove stock thermal paste from a G3258?

The pharmacy section of most grocery stores should have 91% w/o additives, I would think. 70% will wok fine, too. In the U.S, the alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and mineral oil are all together on the same isle petty much everywhere.

Any local electronics store should have some too (but may or may not be open to the public).

If you can be sure that it's pure, acetone will work, as well, and might be found at beauty supply stores (but, fragrances, colors, etc. are a no-no). Be very careful with it, though.

 

[chadashcroft22]

I used hand sanitizer with q-tips for my cleaning off the thermal paste on my cpu and it worked like a charm. Just make sure it's got a really high alcohol % to it.

 

[JackMDS]

The pharmacy section of most grocery stores should have 91% w/o additives, I would think. 70% will wok fine, too. In the U.S, the alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and mineral oil are all together on the same isle petty much everywhere.

Any local electronics store should have some too (but may or may not be open to the public).
.

That said, if you have a Chemist you are Not in the USA (most probable in the UK).

And if you are in a small Village you probably have a Grocary store with No pharmacy section or any Duan Read/Wallgreen/CVS around.

Yeah, I know it is Hard to comprehend that rest of the world is Not a Copy of the USA (Beside the T-Shirts). - :whiste: - - .


.

 

[Cerb]

Oh, please, P&N is that way.

Nonetheless, it is hard to believe that isopropyl alcohol (and water) is hard to get, unless one is just not looking in the right places. Assuming it's the U.K., doubly so, with the U.K. seeming to be such a big computer and general electronics hobby hub.

 

[Puffnstuff]

We Americans take too much for granted having as much as we do compared to the rest of the world and often forget what it might be like to not have access to these things. I agree with JackMDS about the hand sanitizer leaving an unwanted residue on your components and should be avoided if at all possible. I wonder if nail polish remover would work in this instance?

 

[JackMDS]

Nail polish remover is very risky and should be avoided. In most cases it is based on Acetone which melts some types of plastics and other components.

.

 

[Cerb]

I wonder if nail polish remover would work in this instance?

If it is just acetone, with no additives, yes. It should be clear, seem thinner than water (I don't know if it actually is or not, TBH), and not have any smell but the pungent nastiness of nail polish remover. I've gotten it from beauty supply stores in the past.

However, be careful with it. You can't go accidentally splashing it around, like alcohol. It can dissolve materials you really want to leave alone. I get a little on a paper towel, and rub with that.

 

[lenjack]

...or ask for rubbing alcohol.

 

[erichatesmice]

I've just used rubbing alcohol or acetone and works great. It also evaporates pretty fast. I just dip a little bit of a paper rag into the acetone and wipe.

 

[Harvey]

An ammonia based glass cleaner (Windex, etc.) cuts through thermal paste very quickly. It works well on CPU's and fingers, and it's relatively safe and readily available.

 

[bryanl]

Just wipe it off with a cloth or paper, and don't worry since the cleaning method for this is not critical, unlike with surgery, gluing, or painting.

 

[tweakboy]

Use alchohol ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but, clean her good. gl

 

[Harvey]

Just wipe it off with a cloth or paper, and don't worry since the cleaning method for this is not critical, unlike with surgery, gluing, or painting.

Whew, do we disagree! :thumbsdown:

The thermal transfer surfaces on the CPU and mating heat sink are manufactured to be flat and as free from pits and scratches as possible. Hotrodders polish their heatsinks and lap their CPU's further.

Heatsink compound is intended to fill any remaining microscopic gaps between the CPU and the heatsink so it's important to start with clean mating surfaces, free of any particulate, and to use only the thinnest possible coat of compound.

Go with my previous suggestion - Windex. It's cheap, it's safe and it's everywhere.