methylated spirits

PorkPieCat · 5 May 2012 at 14:13

i know that majority of threads will say methylated spirits are -fine- to clean off cpu grease. but why do so many insist on isopropyl for better effects? as far as i know, pure methanol and pure ethanol leave 0 residue, the same as isopropyl (which is ethanol and water). so why do some claim there will be a 1 degree difference in cooling if methylated is used instead of isopropyl? makes no sense to me :s

jamesfreddie · 5 May 2012 at 14:15

There isn't much diffrence, but isopropanal seems to clean abit better.

Nightglow · 5 May 2012 at 14:25

Isopropyl is a bit fair bit stronger than methylated spirits, but both evaporate quickly.

PorkPieCat · 5 May 2012 at 14:40

thanks for the answers. so it's not a residue-related preference then i see. good to know for anyone who can't get isopropyl (like me!)

Nightglow · 5 May 2012 at 15:04

You use to be able buy it in the chemist.

pcAnywhere · 5 May 2012 at 16:25

Isopropyl alcohol is not a mix of ethanol and water! It's propanol. Methylated spirits is far from pure as it contains other chemicals to make it look purple and taste horrid...

sexyhyde · 5 May 2012 at 16:41

I used nail varnish remover for years with no ill effects until I got iso. Just use the cheapest stuff as some of the more expensive stuff contains more additives for nails.

PorkPieCat · 5 May 2012 at 16:57

Lol pcAnywhere, I'm just back from the chemist and the methylated stuff they had was purple just like you say. Moment I saw that I passed. luckily they had some 70% isopropyl wipes. I've used them now and they leave a kind of white residue, but I'm not bothered. Wiped it off with a tissue and it looks nice.

And i'll keep nail varnish in mind for when nobody sells any alcohol solutions... of any kind

jamesfreddie · 5 May 2012 at 17:49

You can get isopropanal off a certian auction website.

Also anything below 99% achool is no good to remove compound.

PorkPieCat · 5 May 2012 at 17:54

thanks, ebay was one of my choices. in my case i was desperate to get it this weekend to test out my cpu though, just to give it a thorough test at stock before i miss my RMA period. and the wipes did leave some funny residue but it slid right off with a tissue, so i'm ok with them for now ^^.

biuro74 · 5 May 2012 at 18:48

sexyhyde said:
I used nail varnish remover for years with no ill effects until I got iso. Just use the cheapest stuff as some of the more expensive stuff contains more additives for nails.

SOme guy on Toms or anandtech wrote nails remover contains some additives that left on the cleaned surface might raise temperature a bit. Maybe they react with thermal grease, maybe there's another reason. I don't use it anymore anyways

Slade2 · 5 May 2012 at 19:27

You can get some kits with the stuff to remove the old gunk and then wipe off the residue that is left. I have had mine for about 6 months but only ever use a small amount so I would imagine a bottle of the stuff could potentially last for years.

philds · 5 May 2012 at 20:24

This does the job brilliantly for me:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-000-AC

The TIM remover works well and then the surface purifier leaves the surfaces looking like new.

Jokester · 5 May 2012 at 20:25

People get too hung up on paste removal, any residue that's left over will be so minute that it won't make any measurable difference to temperatures.

Jayster · 5 May 2012 at 23:06

Jokester said:
People get too hung up on paste removal, any residue that's left over will be so minute that it won't make any measurable difference to temperatures.

Indeed, Sometimes I go and get the methylated spirits out of the shed and if I cant be arsed just get some bog roll, the thermal paste you put on make a far larger difference and even the difference between thermal paste is tiny.

MonsterMoshi · 6 May 2012 at 00:12

I just brought a big microfiber cloth made by Neet off the rainforest for a couple of quid. I cut it up when I need it. A 5x5 cm peice cleans up a CPU. Leave no residue, nothing. A quick scrub does the trick with no chemicals

SubPrimePrePar · 7 May 2012 at 09:10

I've recently cleaned my filthy pc (i'll post pics in a seperate thread as i'm contimplating upgrading/new system) and i just wiped away the thermal paste residues, not to mention other dirt, from my cpu and gpu with my thumb. There is no visible paste residue - is it really neccessary to use the above mentioned cleaning solutions, or will i get away with just reapplying the paste now? i don't have any isopropyl at hand.

Edit: oops, didn't see the above post.

macca672 · 7 May 2012 at 09:40

philds said:
This does the job brilliantly for me:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-000-AC

The TIM remover works well and then the surface purifier leaves the surfaces looking like new.

I use this, works well and smells fantastic, Smells just like Boss in motion aftershave, so when i run out of aftershave I will be rocking down the pub wearing a splash of TIM cleaner

jamesfreddie · 7 May 2012 at 09:40

SubPrimePrePar said:
I've recently cleaned my filthy pc (i'll post pics in a seperate thread as i'm contimplating upgrading/new system) and i just wiped away the thermal paste residues, not to mention other dirt, from my cpu and gpu with my thumb. There is no visible paste residue - is it really neccessary to use the above mentioned cleaning solutions, or will i get away with just reapplying the paste now? i don't have any isopropyl at hand.

You want to use some sort of cleaning soloution to clean compound.

Any thing will do really, isopropanal, surgical spirit, meths or white spirt.

Jokester · 7 May 2012 at 12:10

Just kitchen towel will do, you only really need cleaner of some description if the TIM has dried to the point that it doesn't wipe off.