How to clean and polish a noctua?

Ninja_Ferret

Ninja_Ferret

Ninja_Ferret

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30 Nov 2012
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289
I just bought a second hand noctua D14 and god is it huge, I don't think the make of heat sink really affects stuff but I have been reading and it seems different material prefer different cleaning methods.

The only thing is it need a clean, but is not just dust is kind of greasy, so I was thinking of hand washing it in plain tap water and leaving it to dry. That should be fine. Although I am worried that some water could get stuck some where e.g. between the heat pipes and the base, is this a worry or am I just paranoid.

Also I noticed the base (contact area) had some slight marks on it where it had been pushed into the CPU, as they are slight (cant feel them when I run my finger over them) will it affect the performance and is it worth trying to polish them out. It says the material is copper/aluminum (nickle-plating), is the base nickle coated and if so if I try to remove these scratches will I remove the plating and therefor reduce its performance and remove any benefit from removing the scratch.
 
You can use hot soapy water no problem. I cleaned coolers in the kitchen sink with dish soap, brush, cloth, etc. Rinse and shake the water out. A blow dryer helps Set it in a warm place to dry completely.
 
Isn't that what you use for dishes? :D It will work fine.

If you have some distilled water (like from a dehumidifier) use it to rinse when all done and after normal rinse. Reason is it will leave less spotting on on cooler. Wipe dry as much as you can just like doing a car. Good wadding polish for metal is NEVR-DULL. Google it if you want some. Great for shining up most metals.
 
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