[Gllug] OT(ish) Circuit board cleaner and the blu-tak stuff for heatsinks

[George F.Saxby]

Hi,
Chris is on the money mild washing up liquid plenty of clean water. Do not 
immerse the board as this will get water in hard to dry places, drying it 
borrow the lady of the houses hair drier and on warm (NOT hot) blow it dry 
after leaving to hang over old newspapers for a hour or so.
 	Membrane key boards can only be wiped clean of cola and coffee NEVER ever 
scrub them the conductor only needs a minute scratch and it is shopping time. 
	Experience is a hard master but a sound tutor :-{



On Tuesday 31 December 2002 12:03 am, you wrote:
> On Mon 30 Dec, Dylan wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > OK, so you get the idea I'm a little into the deep water here. My m8
> > (yes, it's a m8, not me!) has tipped a drink in his laptop. So far as I
> > can see (the unit is fully functional) it needs a clean, and since the
> > heatsink is now removed (well, dropped off when case prised open) and the
> > putty stuff is like powder (maybe this explains his long running hanging
> > problem, me thinks) I figure we'll need some of that too...
> >
> > So, what should I use for cleaning the sticky residue off the board? Is
> > there an aerosol (or similar) spray stuff for getting in all thos
> > crannies, or should I be looking at iso-alcohol, or what?
> >
> > And the putty stuff - where can I find that? The guy at Maplin looked
> > blank (but then he was the guy who almost had an orgasm over a reverse
> > cut screw [of the nut and bolt variety!] once)
> >
> > Well, happy seasonals and all (bah humbug)
> >
> > Cheers
> > Dylan
>
>    Circuit boards are etched in some pretty nasty solutions, so a wash in
> very well diluted washing-up liquid followed by a rinse in pure clean water
> will do them no harm, as long as they are given PLENTY of time to dry
> because water can collect under chips and inside wound components.
>    Keyboards can sometimes be washed and dried, but membrane keyboards may
> only have a thin conducting coating which is easily damaged.
>    Some electrolytic capacitors can be harmed by even "safe" solvents,
> which can penetrate the seals and damage the contents.
>    Disc drives and other moving parts are difficult to clean and dry, but a
> careful clean with water or iso-propyl alcohol may be neccessary. Beware
> that alcohol will dissolve all the oils from skin, and deposit them on to
> the clean surfaces. Both methylated and surgical spirits contain other
> chemicals which can be harder to remove than the original contamination.
>    If you really want to cause havoc, cola is about the best drink for
> gumming things up, with a mix of sugar and rust remover (phosphoric acid).
>    Heat sink compounds are usually based on silicone grease, which is
> resistant to heat and solvents. They can dry after a long time, leaving a
> residue which should still conduct heat. Maplin should be able to supply
> some compound; you only need enough to eliminate air gaps.

-- 
Bandiera tuxa trionfera,
Evviva il penguin e la liberta
www.saltmine.org.uk
           
               George F. Saxby
     

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