Advice needed, GPU full of white rust???

[abdulwahidkhan]

Hi all,
Need some advice/help if you can. I have a GPU that I was using and then left it in the shed in the garden, sadly exposed to the air as I had the window slightly left open since I have been away for a few months on work. I have back to seeing some white crusty stuff that has accumulated on the GPU fins (please see pictures attached on the link from different angles).
I have tried to use an ear bud with nail varnish remover to take it off but it doesn't seem to go away and can't get the buds in to the fins properly.
Can anyone suggest what I can do to remove this and what it potentially is?
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks

https://ibb.co/vdkLXdV
https://ibb.co/zxwGVG5
https://ibb.co/XLVM5GT
https://ibb.co/jg2mMHm

 

[abdulwahidkhan]

Not a smoker, but will order Isopropyl alcohol and hobby brush and see what happens. Will try and soak it too.

 

[abdulwahidkhan]

hahaha.... something like that.
Would it be ok if I let it be soaked in Isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes and then try and scrub it off? Or don't soak it all but try and scrub it with a brush that I dip in the Isopropyl solution?

 

[abdulwahidkhan]

So I tried the Isopropyl with a thin brush and the white stuff fades away for a few seconds then comes back to the original colour. It doesn’t seem to remove it when I’m trying to scrub it away with a small thin hobby brush. Do you think leaving it sinked in to the Isopropyl in a container would help, let’s say for like 30 mins or so? How do I remove the heat sink as I tried but it seems it’s stuck to the rest of the GPU. It’s an ASUS Strix 1080Ti. Here’s some pictures from different angles.
https://ibb.co/6XhrMF8
https://ibb.co/98qQs83
https://ibb.co/HqYvLDf
https://ibb.co/DbdmDf0