???thermal paste remove

[cyanit]

Just now, DocSwag said:

Cleaning anything electrical with a vacuum is a horrible idea... A lot of static builds up on the vacuum and if it makes its way onto anything electrical boom, it's dead.

it still works.... And I built just today 2 PC´s on the carpet. No joke. 

There working. Both. And my cat walked over the ram.

 

[DocSwag]

Just now, cyanit said:

it still works.... And I built just today 2 PC´s on the carpet. No joke. 

There working. Both. And my cat walked over the ram.

 

I know, but it's still pretty risky. A can of compressed air is much safer.

[jaycowper]

10 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

Cleaning anything electrical with a vacuum is a horrible idea... A lot of static builds up on the vacuum and if it makes its way onto anything electrical boom, it's dead.

Lol he'll prolly tell you that it's an old laptop anyways and that who cares. However, good point. Vacuums and computers don't really mix because of the static build up.

[cyanit]

15 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

I know, but it's still pretty risky. A can of compressed air is much safer.

7 minutes ago, jaycowper said:

Lol he'll prolly tell you that it's an old laptop anyways and that who cares. However, good point. Vacuums and computers don't really mix because of the static build up.

 

1. I didn´t know that the idea with the vacuum cleaner is not much better than the nail polish idea.

2. ill get a can of compressed air soon. 

 

thank you both

(btw this is no sarcasm!)

[jaycowper]

5 minutes ago, cyanit said:

 

1. I didn´t know that the idea with the vacuum cleaner is not much better than the nail polish idea.

2. ill get a can of compressed air soon. 

 

thank you both

(btw this is no sarcasm!)

It isn't that much better of an idea. So yeah, if he was willing to use nail polish remover, might as well go full YOLO and do a vacuum as well.

[cyanit]

Just now, jaycowper said:

It isn't that much better of an idea. So yeah, if he was willing to use nail polish remover, might as well go full YOLO and do a vacuum as well.

just lmao ;D

[mariushm]

Using vaccum clean is OK as long as you keen the nozzle away from components, at least around 5 cm (2-3 inches).  Any closer and static electricity that may build up in the nozzle (due to friction between air and the material of the nozzle) can "jump" through the air and discharge itself through the components

Using vacuum cleaner is also not recommended because the suction can pull jumpers off the boards (nowadays boards have little or no jumpers but they used many of them in the past) or tiny surface mounted components (if they board was poorly done)

Also, in general it's a bad idea to make fans spin using the vacuum cleaner - it's unlikely they'll be damaged (or the component that would normally power them) but after being subjected to such suction and high rpm they can become noisy

 

I actually use a vacuum cleaner to clean my power supply, it's safe because all internal components are shielded against esd (electrostatic discharge) by the metal case of the power supply and they're not close enough to the holes in the case to have enough suction force to pull components. I try to protect the fan by locking the blades in place with a tiny screwdriver.

 

thermal pads = squares or rectangles made out of some material that can transfer heat , the material keeps its shape. usually it's at least 1mm thick

thermal paste = paste, becomes somewhat liquid when hot, infiltrates materials and fills gaps in order to help heat transfer. thermal paste you can clean with solvents, pads are like tape, you can't dissolve them but they can break in small segments.  in such case, you may be tempted to remove the broken segments and use thermal paste but that won't work.

 

With motherboards and other things, you can either blow air on the components (careful not to spit on them) and then use the vacuum cleaner above the parts to suck the dust .. don't put the vacuum on the components. A common practice among service tech guys is to use a soft toothbrush or paint brush to wipe the surfaces of the parts to get the dust off them and then vacuum cleaner sucks the dust out of the air.

 

[Sack]

On 26.3.2017 at 10:21 PM, mariushm said:

You can use acetone, but isopropyl alcohol is recommended.

Acetone can attack plastics and remove paint/markings from components, for example the print off surface mounted capacitors. isopropyl alcohol is not that "strong" and does the same job.

 

You can also use sanitary alcohol or any other solvent , just make sure it evaporates before you apply the new thermal paste.

 

And don't confuse thermal paste with thermal pads. If the laptop uses thermal pads, it may have been designed with the thickness of the pads in mind, so replacing them with paste may be a mistake as the paste will become thinner and spread when heated while pads will remain the same thickness.

Actually, sanitary alcohol rubs often contain softening agents to keep your hands from drying up,  this will leave a film on most surfaces, which is why you shouldn't us it for this type of thing.