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Where on earth can I get 100% rubbing alcohol for cleaning left over thermal pad crud?

You can't buy 100% alcohol, 99% is the highest percentage made. You have to go to a pharmacy, and ask the pharmacist for it (they keep it behind the counter, not out on a shelf).

edit: And you don't have to have 99%, 91% is good enough for what we use it for.
 
any drugstore? walgreens, cvs, riteaid.
also..target, walmart, kmart.

look in the pharmacy/first aid department...probably by the bandaids and stuff. isopropyl alcohol.

hth

edit: whoops..didn't pay attention to the 100%. the cheap 70% one i got works fine.
 
The 70% didn't work for a geforce 256 I had a while ago. Barely anything came off.

Thanks for the tip, I will try the pharmacies.
 
I have found the "gunk" (AKA Thermal Pads) does not come off the core as good with 90% alcohol as it does with Acetone. you can pick this up at any walmart/home depot/true value etc type store in the paint section. The 90% is great for getting AS5 off and giving a nice sparkly shine after using Acetone.
 
Will denatured alcohol work as well as pure isopropyl alcohol? How about methanol? I can get both of these alcohols at work.
 
denatured is just ethanol.

They rank in "hotness" as a solvent from high to low like this, assuming same concentrations: methanol>ethanol>isoproyl, so ya it will work a little better even.
 
Thanks. And where does acetone fit into the solvent scale, even though it's not an alcohol?

"denatured is just ethanol"....with a little methanol thrown in so you can't drink it! 🙁
 
When replacing the stock pad on my p4 I may as well have been using water for how little 70% worked for me. Not sure if 91/99 is that much better, but as a former smoker I had some zippo fluid (naptha) laying around and that simply disintegrated the pad crud. Once you have the pad off, clean off any lighter fluid remnants with the 70% alcohol.
 
the pink gunk in the stuff that is really hard to get off, even with the best alcohol
i just started using oxy pads to clean my stuff last year
it seems to work just as good as alcohol and a peice of cloth

but that pink goo on the retail amd heatsinks is horrible, i recommend never letting that stuff outta the box 🙂
good luck
 
Originally posted by: Gurck
When replacing the stock pad on my p4 I may as well have been using water for how little 70% worked for me. Not sure if 91/99 is that much better, but as a former smoker I had some zippo fluid (naptha) laying around and that simply disintegrated the pad crud. Once you have the pad off, clean off any lighter fluid remnants with the 70% alcohol.
Click to expand...


good idea, i have some of that 🙂

i guess paint thinner or gasoline would be taking it overboard tho ?? hehe
i once used a bucket of gasoline to remove roofing tar from my arms and hands, it did the trick in under 10 minutes

or maybe a good can of engine degreaser would work 🙂

also they sell air can filled with electric parts cleaner, i used to use this to clean remote controll car parts, but i had to be carefull not to get the wrong brand because it would melt the plastic 🙂
has anyone tryed this ??
 
Originally posted by: FatCity

"denatured is just ethanol"....with a little methanol thrown in so you can't drink it! 🙁
Click to expand...
Maybe YOU can't drink it.....😎 <---the sunglasses are because I'm blind now

lol, j/k.

Interesting factoid: The reason it's hard to find liquor above 184 proof or so is because with standard distillation, as you heat an alcohol-water mix you get more concentrated alcohol out the top, and more concentrated water out the bottom. Once you reach around 92% alcohol, these flip and you start getting water out the top.

The really high-proof liquors like Everclear manage to get higher than 184 proof by using a different method to remove the water.
 
VIAN, for best results get the best stuff you can find. Be very careful to avoid anything with impurities in it. Ex. acetone used for fingernail polish, It has geletin and fragrance oils in it. They will remain in the microscopic valleys and prevent good contact/thermal transfer. Do not put your finger on the core to feel it (or the heatsink), oil from skin will leave a layer .005 thick on it. Why pay good money for a decent thermal paste and then fvck it up with a poor cleaning solution etc. Just cuz it looks clean to our eyes doesn't mean sh1t.

I thinks it's very hard to get that wax out those micro valleys. I'll never ever put a wax pad on my stuff. And next time I have to clean one, I'm just lapp the thing a litle bit.
 
Great, I just happen to have a crap load of Zippo Lighter Fluid and some 70% rubbing alcohol. Hopefully, my computer won't catch fire.
 
Originally posted by: jagec

Interesting factoid: The reason it's hard to find liquor above 184 proof or so is because with standard distillation, as you heat an alcohol-water mix you get more concentrated alcohol out the top, and more concentrated water out the bottom. Once you reach around 92% alcohol, these flip and you start getting water out the top.
Click to expand...

Actually, normal distillation of ethanol(alcohol)/water always has ethanol, the lighter component, exiting the top. The azeotrope for this process occurs at 95% ethanol (maximum purity attainable when starting with less than 95% ethanol). The ethanol only comes out the bottom when they apply ternary distillation which involves adding an entrainer (benzene and cyclohexane are common for this process) to bypass the 95% azeotrope to get near 100% ethanol.
[Another method is to apply a molecular sieve dehydration system, as well as other dehydration systems]


Anyway, someone suggested acetone. Acetone might be a good solution since acetone evaporates quite readily. I've heard of others using it as well. Acetone is also the active ingredient in nail polish remover, which someone else suggested as well.
 
Best way to remove "gunks" safely for me has been electronic degreaser. Takes things out in no time and shiney clean. I still use alchol to make sure there is no residue of it just in case (it really its grease well such as thermal paste, etc 😛)
 
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