Cleaning thermal paste with nail polish remover
brucine Posted messages 25027 Registration date Status Member Last intervention -
I would like to know if I can use nail polish remover to remove the thermal paste from my CPU? Before you tell me in the comments, I searched but I can't find isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol, or any other high-percentage alcohol, so what do you think? Also, the removers I found all contain acetone (none are exceptions)!
6 answers
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Hello
Cleaning the thermal paste from a processor: nothing....
Paper towels or a fine cotton cloth, and nothing, no product, ever.
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Euskadi Ta Askatasuna -
Hello,
Yes, but be careful, it’s better to wear a glove and do this in a well-ventilated area.-
Thank you, I was also advised to try this product https://wd40.fr/ I was told it's an excellent lubricant for removing grease, rust, and oils, what do you think?
Hello
Wd40 is a very good penetrating oil. I sometimes use it on very dirty electrical contacts with mechanical parts to lubricate, but if they are already very damaged, I avoid it.
Stores that offer wd40 also provide cleaners for electrical contacts.
I don't use it to clean thermal paste; everyone has their preferences. It contains less than 25% light mineral oil, but you can degrease behind it with alcohol.
Ammonia, sodium phosphate, or other chemical substances that can damage aluminum. The CPU cover is often made of aluminum.
I prefer to use a low-percentage alcohol; there is water, but oxidation takes time. For cleaning thermal paste, you dry quickly by wiping it, sometimes using compressed air, and you wait a bit for everything to be completely dry before turning the power back on as a precaution; all these products are highly flammable.
Yes, acetone is very good for this task; it's very volatile and dangerous to breathe, and even on the skin, it can penetrate and quickly attack plastics and other materials, so be careful. Commercial products are intended to be used by professionals who already know the precautions to take. It's found in nail polish removers.
By the way, unrelated to the question, you can also clean nail polish with other products.
https://www.santeplusmag.com/les-6-meilleures-recettes-de-dissolvant-pour-vernis-a-ongles-fait-maison/
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Hello,
No nail polish remover! It's as formidable as acetone.
Normally, we use isopropyl alcohol. If necessary, you can use non-aromatic white spirit if possible. Wear gloves and work with cotton swabs to avoid making a mess.
What is well conceived is clearly stated,
And the words to say it come easily.
(Boileau) -
There are no contraindications to using Acetone, even pure.
Except under the condition, as I said, with a glove (latex) and preferably outside, in a well-ventilated area.
You must not touch it or breathe it in.
Nail polish remover is diluted Acetone with a fragrance, we use that on nails, can you imagine?
WD40, on the other hand, is used on bicycle chains.-
Hello,
The problem with acetone is that if a drop accidentally falls on a plastic item, it at least leaves a stain by attacking the plastic. Using acetone is taking a risk.
Don't touch it, don't breathe it in: fair enough. But let's not dramatize. During my studies, I happily played around with acetone to clean the glassware used in chemistry. Without gloves, without a mask like all the other students!
(The solvent in nail polish is usually ethyl acetate, which has a fairly pleasant smell).
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Pure acetone turns the skin white (Like a sheet) almost instantly on contact.
It attacks the skin, the nerves under the skin, etc.
I have a half-full gallon; I have used it often.
When you can afford alcohol, it's the first choice, but when out of alcohol, I think it replaces it very well.
But indeed, do not touch plastic because it will melt. -
Pure acetone makes the skin white (Like a sheet) almost instantly upon contact.Are you really sure about what you're saying? Are you confusing it with concentrated hydrogen peroxide?
I see on this site that really doesn't seem fanciful:
The times I touched it with my fingers on a paper towel to rub something for a few seconds, the skin changes color, it becomes whitish to not exaggerate, in less than 5 seconds, any longer would be worse.
Pure it's much stronger than nail polish remover.
It is written: Industrial use only.
Either it's not pure acetone, or you have a particular sensitivity.
But, I repeat, I have used and continue to use acetone without any particular problems.
It is essential to be well aware of the primary risks, the main one being its extreme flammability. Contact with the eyes and inhalation of vapors are obviously dangerous.
Another technical sheet: https://www.chemos.de/import/data/msds/FR_fr/67-64-1-A0001274-FR-fr.pdf
Hello
Moreover, nail polish contains acetone but also dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, or toluene, all of which are harmful to health, but we don't tell women, do we? It's not mandatory to include it on the label, so we let loose.
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Hello,
One must keep a cool head.
Phthalates have been banned in Europe for several years; for other substances to exert cumulative toxic effects (mutagens, fertility inhibitors...), they must penetrate the nail plate or their volatility must expose one to toxicity by inhalation at a sufficient concentration.
I don't know if scientific studies have been conducted on this subject; it is not enough for a substance to be known for a certain type of toxicity for it to manifest, one must also consider the duration of exposure, the concentration..
To return to acetone, I have also handled it for years, not only in chemistry but sometimes domestically and always barehanded; apart from its drying power and its relatively moderate toxic risk by inhalation (ventilate...), I do not see why its occasional use is a concern. -
Hello
Obviously, we have all used acetone, previously without gloves, now young people leave school and work with gloves. I confirm that it whitens the skin without any particular sensitivity, it removes the protective sebum from the skin and even attacks the cells near the surface of the skin, the fat is affected.
Afterward, we either have or we don’t have "calluses" on our fingers.
And when we're old we cough, our lungs are damaged, it’s not recognized and we are individually blamed for the lack of precautions. [experienced in the workplace].
Laboratories abandon certain products in cosmetics year after year, they even advertise them for their brand image.
They were required to conduct studies but not to publish the data! [sic] This is starting to change in the law.
The assembly is talking again about neonicotinoids still in exception for sugar beets in France since 2018. Product by product, young people are re-educating us.
Occasional use, well I agree. Like a soldering iron burn from time to time we get a heat stroke "it's part of the job". We protect ourselves when it's repetitive, the effects come over time, like with cigarettes.
Still, acetone works very well for cleaning thermal paste.
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Isopropyl alcohol and isopropanol are two names for the same product, easily found in supermarkets, pharmacies, and Amazon today. It cannot be used to clean wounds.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=isopropyl+alcohol
Note that denatured alcohol is not used for cleaning wounds, only for equipment; 90% is isopropyl, but it also works for fixing the PC, it's the cheapest container.
See the anomaly on Amazon, the page says that denatured alcohol is used to clean wounds, but the Mercurochrome container in the photo contains isopropyl alcohol and acetone, clearly marked on the container for technical use (scissors, thermometer, tweezers), I found it in a supermarket. The nurse confirmed, they do make a distinction in use; it's a cleaning product for equipment, they use something else for wounds.
https://www.amazon.com/Mercurochrome-Alcohol-Denatured-90-Vol/dp/B0060OUCBM/ref=sxin_16_ac_d_rm?ac_md=1-1-YWxjb29sIDkw-ac_d_rm_rm_rm&content-id=amzn1.sym.4848693a-2e8d-4726-88d8-d685cafc3123%3Aamzn1.sym.4848693a-2e8d-4726-88d8-d685cafc3123&cv_ct_cx=isopropyl+alcohol&keywords=isopropyl+alcohol&pd_rd_i=B0060OUCBM&pd_rd_r=878b0710-e43c-47c4-a7ea-c04fc0d21877&pd_rd_w=Fy1Uy&pd_rd_wg=xHDdX&pf_rd_p=4848693a-2e8d-4726-88d8-d685cafc3123&pf_rd_r=PQNX17SV2AKC4E02JXT9&qid=1677551182&rdc=1&sr=1-2-e2b79f78-a3a0-4cac-b70d-2a5e4ae8e724
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Thank you for this clarification about modified alcohol; it’s the one I used to find at the pharmacy when I was young.
Under the Mercurochrome brand at the supermarket, I did find this bottle photographed on
Amazon and labeled as both modified alcohol 90% vol, for technical use,
Usage advice: disinfection of scissors, thermometers, tweezers.
Composition: Alcohol, Aqua, acetone, Isopropyl alcohol, alcohol for technical uses.
Danger: This product is not intended for skin application.
Laboratoires Juva Santé Paris.
2022
This shows we can be wary of everything. It reminds me of the mistake made long ago by Spaniards who put antifreeze in olive oil, antifreeze sold on the internet as "beginner".
Misled by a generic label valid in Germany, while in Spain they had never had the option to find antifreeze in that category.
Finally, I tried to provide MiYa with links to find their products; that’s the main thing.
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"The alcohol modified for medicinal uses" is listed in the tenth edition of the Pharmacopoeia. I don't know if it is still in the eleventh edition currently in force, and what would theoretically prevent it from being sold outside of pharmacies since it would then be considered a medication.
The composition you mention has nothing to do with it, but you may have noticed that they are clever since they do not refer to the protected official designation but instead to a fanciful designation "90° modified alcohol," which is a figment of the imagination.
The terminology "denatured alcohol" (and then, regardless of the method of use) would have been more appropriate, but that is less marketable and less conducive to deceiving the consumer who would not read the fine print.
"Pure acetone makes the skin white (like a sheet) almost instantly to the touch."
Let's see where you saw that? The acetone found everywhere in cleaning products in supermarkets, if it had that property, we wouldn't leave it within everyone's reach.
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As mentioned, there is certainly a confusion with other substances, primarily highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide solutions: aside from the repeated action of lower concentration solutions (depigmentation through inhibition of melanin synthesis), it is not so much the violent redox power that is at stake but rather micro-embolisms caused by significant concentrations of oxygen preventing blood flow and therefore leading to tissue blanching.
There are indeed substances available on the market and accessible to everyone that are very dangerous; in the case we are interested in, concentrated alkalis like caustic soda can cause a similar appearance through the saponification of tissues, and every year there are very serious accidents reported involving young children who may not have consumed the lye itself, which is not very tempting, but a drain cleaner containing it and often placed, like concentrated bleach, in a food container (an empty water or soda bottle...).
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