Can I soak a motherboard in alcohol?

[thechurchofcage]

So, I bought a used MacBook the other day for cheap hoping to play around with it for a bit, fix whatever's broken, and then sell it on. When I received it, I noticed that it had been enamel coated - the body of the MacBook feels like porcelain. However, when I opened it up I found that the internals were covered in chalk-like enamel dust:

It might not come across too well in the image, but there is a LOT of this dust and it is caked on. I can scrub the hard drive and the inside of the case with an alcoholic cloth (NOT a cloth with a drinking problem), but what about the motherboard? I don't want to scrub it (and this stuff does take a quite a bit of scrubbing to remove) but could I soak it in an alcohol or vinegar bath for a few hours to dissolve the dust without damaging the board?

 

Thanks very much!

[TheKDub]

Isopropyl alcohol if you do. It won't "dissolve" the dust, but it can help to clean it off. Make sure it sits out for a few hours to ensure all of the alcohol (and water) has evaporated fully before re-connecting to any power sources.

 

Just get some canned air and blast the dust away. You can also use a soft bristled brush (think small paintbrush) to help loosen some stuff that's more caked in. I've also used Q-Tips with isopropyl alcohol to remove dust and remnants of spilled soda from electronics before.

[homeap5]

It's liquid and motherboard is not metal, so I guessing - no. It's like everything else - small amount may be good, too much is not. And there is no 100% alcohol. Any alcohol contains small amount of water.

[ARikozuM]

Yes, you can. I will usually rinse major components in alcohol rather than using a brush or 15psi spray from a compressor. Make sure that you keep a grate to keep things from sitting at the bottom. 

 

Edit: You will have to replace all thermal pads and heatsinks if you're doing it this way. 

[Enderman]

Some of the plastics will get damaged with solvents like alcohol if you soak them for a while.

[thechurchofcage]

Thanks for the response, I'll try the isopropyl. I've tried using alcohol on the end of a Q-tip just like that, but again, it takes more force than I'm comfortable applying to sensitive electronics...

9 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

Isopropyl alcohol if you do. It won't "dissolve" the dust, but it can help to clean it off. Make sure it sits out for a few hours to ensure all of the alcohol (and water) has evaporated fully before re-connecting to any power sources.

 

Just get some canned air and blast the dust away. You can also use a soft bristled brush (think small paintbrush) to help loosen some stuff that's more caked in. I've also used Q-Tips with isopropyl alcohol to remove dust and remnants of spilled soda from electronics before.

 

[thechurchofcage]

2 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Yes, you can. I will usually rinse major components in alcohol rather than using a brush or 15psi spray from a compressor. Make sure that you keep a grate to keep things from sitting at the bottom. 

 

Edit: You will have to replace all thermal pads and heatsinks if you're doing it this way. 

Thanks for the reply. That's good to hear, I'll try that. I can remove the heatsink before soaking and I'll be reapplying thermal paste anyway.

[thechurchofcage]

4 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Some of the plastics will get damaged with solvents like alcohol if you soak them for a while.

Yeah, that's what I was concerned about... I reckon I'll try half an hour or an hour and see what happens. I'm perfectly happy to sacrifice a MacBook for science

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, thechurchofcage said:

Thanks for the reply. That's good to hear, I'll try that. I can remove the heatsink before soaking and I'll be reapplying thermal paste anyway.

It's not just your CPU that's a concern. It's every heatsink on that board. 

[ARikozuM]

Just now, thechurchofcage said:

Yeah, that's what I was concerned about... I reckon I'll try half an hour or an hour and see what happens. I'm perfectly happy to sacrifice a MacBook for science

That's too long. 10 minutes is good enough to soften most dirt and dust. 

[TheKDub]

37 minutes ago, thechurchofcage said:

Thanks for the response, I'll try the isopropyl. I've tried using alcohol on the end of a Q-tip just like that, but again, it takes more force than I'm comfortable applying to sensitive electronics...

 

It shouldn't take much force. Maybe as much as you'd use when writing with a pen or pencil, if that.

[thechurchofcage]

15 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

It shouldn't take much force. Maybe as much as you'd use when writing with a pen or pencil, if that.

This stuff is some sort of enamel coating - it takes A LOT of force. Already ordered my big jug of isopropyl booze though!

[TheKDub]

7 minutes ago, thechurchofcage said:

This stuff is some sort of enamel coating - it takes A LOT of force. Already ordered my big jug of isopropyl booze though!

What if it's supposed to be there to protect the circuitry? I wouldn't just go scrubbing/scraping off things without much reason (such as cleaning a specific area to fix it, or cleaning corrosion.)

[thechurchofcage]

1 minute ago, TheKDub said:

What if it's supposed to be there to protect the circuitry? I wouldn't just go scrubbing/scraping off things without much reason (such as cleaning a specific area to fix it, or cleaning corrosion.)

If you look at the photo, you can see the white residue on the edge of an otherwise black motherboard. That stuff is NOT supposed to be there. It's on the screws, it's in the fan, it's left a coating on the inside of the case and it may have contributed to the fact that the mic and optical drive don't work. I don't feel comfortable leaving it on, especially since I intend to sell it.