Removing thermal adhesive?
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Removing thermal adhesive?
I have a problem. I have a broken ABIT NF7-S motherboard, but I already slapped on a southbridge cooler before noticing it was broken. The cooler is attached with the Zalman thermal adhesive. I cannot RMA it as long as the cooler is attached to it or there are traces of thermal adhesive left. Is there some way to remove it? A solvant of sorts? Or should I just throw the board away with the rest of my broken boards?
(Last time I bought a motherboard on this store).
(Last time I bought a motherboard on this store).
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=5462
He removed the expoy with an exacto knive and acetone.
He removed the expoy with an exacto knive and acetone.
You're right - acetone can chew through PCB if you're not careful. What I'd recommend is to use a Q-tip that has been wetted with acetone, and then rub the q-tip on the epoxy, and finally use the exacto to remove the softened epoxy.Gandalf wrote:The problem is that I've seen acetone eat through entire motherboards .. I can't really risk that . However, I will use that as my last option.
The southbridge casing should hold up - but you may end up removing any lettering on the southbridge.
You could always try some other solvent like rubbing alcohol - it shouldn't hurt the PCB but it might not have any effect on the epoxy....
I want to refer you to another thread that I started at cdrbase forums because these guys offered suggestions on removing the compound.
I think the link will work for you, but it may not if you aren't registered at cdrbase. Could somebody who is not a member of cdrbase let me know if the link provided works?
I think the link will work for you, but it may not if you aren't registered at cdrbase. Could somebody who is not a member of cdrbase let me know if the link provided works?
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Gandalf: for future reference, you might consider purchasing this heatsink. It costs ~$15, not including S/H (somewhat pricey, but nonetheless it is a quality, low-profile HS that comes with thermal tape pre-applied). In fact, this is what I am using to cool the southbridge on my NF7-S. Take care.
Alright, the freezer method didn't work.
What I did was YANK it off. It took me 15 minutes of yanking at full force (and I'm a fairly strong guy .. ) but it came off! No leftovers either! I guess the adhesive-chip cohesion wasn't strong enough for any of it to remain.
Thanks guys . Now I can RMA the board! I'm happy now.
What I did was YANK it off. It took me 15 minutes of yanking at full force (and I'm a fairly strong guy .. ) but it came off! No leftovers either! I guess the adhesive-chip cohesion wasn't strong enough for any of it to remain.
Thanks guys . Now I can RMA the board! I'm happy now.