Arctic Silver, the manufacturer of Arctic Silver 5, Ceramique and Arctic Alumina thermal compounds as well as Arctic Silver and Arctic Alumina thermal adhesives, recently sent their latest product, ArctiClean, for testing.
Unlike the other products mentioned above, ArctiClean is not a thermal compound or adhesive but 2 separate liquids for preparing surfaces for thermal compound or adhesive. ArctiClean consists of ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover and ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier.
More specifically, ArctiClean is a two step process designed for removing previous applications of thermal grease as well as thermal pads (the pink or grey material with a gum-like consistency that is often found on factory installed heatsinks).
ArctiClean 1 is a biodegradable, non-toxic liquid made up of citrus and soy based solvents which emulsify thermal greases or thermal pads. ArctiClean 2 contains cationic surfactants and flash corrosion inhibitors which remove any residue left by ArctiClean 1 and minimize the corrosion layer on copper and aluminum.
Testing
That is enough on what it is supposed to do…time for the fun stuff. In order to really test ArctiClean 1, I spent the better part of an afternoon digging though parts boxes looking for an old heatsink that had a rather interesting thermal pad on its base. This was an old heatsink that was ran up to extremely high temperatures when the fan on the unit died and the overclocked processor’s heat had its way with the sink and the thermal material between the base of the sink and the processor.
As can be seen in the pictures, the thermal pad was charred and melted into the not-so-smooth base on this old aluminum sink. Since most waterblocks and heatsinks are not in this dire condition, I also decided to test ArctiClean’s ability to remove Arctic Silver 5 on a copper waterblock that has an exceptionally smooth base.
Test Subjects
Upon taking the cap off of the ArctiClean 1, one of the first things I noticed was the citrus scent. It has a very powerful orange scent that is much better than the solvents I have used to dissolve thermal pads in the past. I have to admit, I was a little doubtful that something that did not smell like a toxic chemical dump would be able to handle the charred-on thermal pad that I had managed to dig up.
A few seconds after applying 4-5 drops of ArctiClean 1 to the thermal pad produced results indicating it was in fact up to the job as the edges of the thermal pad began to melt into the liquid. After letting the thermal pad dissolve into the ArctiClean 1 for about 45 seconds, it wiped away easily with just a few passed with a cotton swab.
Thermal Pad Dissolving in ArctiClean 1
After using a couple more cotton swabs to clean off the rest of the dissolved thermal pad goop, I applied a few drops of ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier and wiped the base of the heatsink clean as indicated by the instructions. Once the surface was rubbed dry, I inspected it under a halogen lamp and found an extremely clean surface that looked great (other than the nasty ridges that were left on it by the factory).
ArctiClean is clearly superior to alcohol in this task as alcohol will not even phase a thermal pad
Once I completed the thermal pad testing, I was curious to see if ArctiClean would have better results than alcohol on a smooth copper-based waterblock when used to remove Arctic Silver 5.
From dozens of previous cleanings, I knew that alcohol can clean Arctic Silver 5 off of a polished copper sink but sometimes it takes several passes and a lot of rubbing to get the surface ready for another application of thermal grease. From the results it produced with the thermal pad I expected that ArctiClean would be able to get a smooth copper block cleaned and prepped with less time and effort but I was not sure how much of a difference there would be between it and alcohol.
In order to test them against one another, I smeared a decent amount of Arctic Silver 5 into the base while pushing it into the base with as much force as possible and then I warmed it up to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit to bake it on a little. After the block cooled,
I applied 4-5 drops of ArctiClean 1 to one side of the block and 4-5 drops of alcohol to the other. Since ArctiClean seemed to be a more potent cleaner, I used it on the side that had a decent bit more thermal grease thanks to my less-than-perfectly-symmetrical grease application job.
I then took clean cotton swabs and made the same number of cleaning passes to each side of the block. While both sides of the copper block looked clean afterwards, the ArctiClean side looked just a bit brighter which led me to believe that the alcohol side of the block was not quite as clean.
To check the alcohol side of the block for thermal grease residue, I went back and cleaned it with ArctiClean to see if any more residue would come off of it. The cotton swab used for the second cleaning picked up a noticeable amount of residue when compared to a cotton swab used for a second pass on the side originally cleaned with ArctiClean.
While there is no doubt that more cleaning with alcohol would have removed the remaining grease, the process was faster and easier with ArctiClean (cotton swabs photographed on the aluminum base for image clarity).
ArctiCleaned
Conclusion
So, is ArctiClean worth the money? If you remove a lot of thermal pads, it is definitely worth it as it removes them quickly and easily without having to do any scraping on the base of the heatsink or waterblock and it does not have a strong chemical odor.
ArctiClean vs. Alcohol
When it comes to cleaning thermal grease off of a smooth copper base, it is a little closer call but it still has advantages over the usual alcohol cleaning method because it is faster and requires less effort to get the surface 100% prepared for the next application of thermal grease.
Additionally, it is by no means an expensive product and one kit would handle quite a few cleanings. In closing, thanks to Arctic Silver for sending us a sample of ArctiClean for testing and for making another fine product for the enthusiast market.