Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

David

Lobster wiibbled of :

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

David

White vinegar or meths springs to mind, though do try it on the underside of
the chair first to make sure it doesn't make the dye run. Maybe a paste of
talc and white vinegar to remove any stain. Or failing that quickly head
out and buy a nice loose cover for the chair

In uk.d-i-y Lobster wrote:
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

White spirit will act as a solvent for silicone sealant (before it
sets).
I don't know how it will act with silicone grease.
I'd take it outside, then gently rub in some white spirit to the stain,
then suck it off with a wet+dry vacuum cleaner (set to dry).
(outside, to cover the very small possibility tha the vac goes on fire.)
Repeat several times.

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

sPoNiX

s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Thanks
David

In uk.d-i-y Lobster wrote:
s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Zinc oxide is the filler, used with a heavy silicone oil, to make the
compound.
(other more exotic things may be used.)

However.
Unless you've really tried hard, there should be some left on the
heatsink.
Smear this on another bit of fabric, and try various approaches.

Ian Stirling wrote:
In uk.d-i-y Lobster wrote:

s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:


Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)


Zinc oxide is the filler, used with a heavy silicone oil, to make the
compound.
(other more exotic things may be used.)

However.
Unless you've really tried hard, there should be some left on the
heatsink.
Smear this on another bit of fabric, and try various approaches.

I wouldn't be surprised if white spirit / terps caused the colour to run
in the fabric so defiantly try a concealed section first.

There aren't many things that will dissolve silicone effectively. IIRC
we used to use DCM (dichloro-methane) will but I have no idea where you
can get that neat (it's in paint stripper so you might find it
associated with that). You could also try acetone (nail varnish remover)
but I doubt that will work - it might be better for the fabric though.

Have you tried just sticking it in the washing machine?

Graham

On 25 Feb 2005 13:25:28 GMT, Ian Stirling wrote:

In uk.d-i-y Lobster wrote:
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

White spirit will act as a solvent for silicone sealant (before it
sets).
I don't know how it will act with silicone grease.

Heatsink compound isn't silicone grease, it's much more sticky
and evil than that!

I'd take it outside, then gently rub in some white spirit to the stain,
then suck it off with a wet+dry vacuum cleaner (set to dry).
(outside, to cover the very small possibility tha the vac goes on fire.)
Repeat several times.

White spirit is a very good general-purpose solvent. If it doesn't
do the trick, it's unlikely anything will. (

Jock.

--

"In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man,
it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity."
-- Konrad Adenauer

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:33:10 GMT, Lobster wrote:

s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

If it's white then it's heatsink compound. Silicone grease is grey
and jelly-like. You're unlikely to find silicone grease on a heatsink
these days.

Jock.

--

"In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man,
it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity."
-- Konrad Adenauer

Jock. wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:33:10 GMT, Lobster wrote:


s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:


Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)


If it's white then it's heatsink compound. Silicone grease is grey
and jelly-like. You're unlikely to find silicone grease on a heatsink
these days.

Jock.

*"Silcoset"* ?

In uk.d-i-y Jock. wrote:
On 25 Feb 2005 13:25:28 GMT, Ian Stirling wrote:

In uk.d-i-y Lobster wrote:
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

White spirit will act as a solvent for silicone sealant (before it
sets).
I don't know how it will act with silicone grease.

Heatsink compound isn't silicone grease, it's much more sticky
and evil than that!

I think it is.
It's a very stiff silicone grease, loaded with zinc-oxide (or other heat
conductive shimming stuff).
Or at least it was in the past, I'm sure I read it on the side of a 20ml
tube that the label has now fallen off of.

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote the following to uk.comp.misc:

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Heatsink compound is silicone based, so you need a solvent based stain
remover. Something for removing furniture polish should do.

mh.
--
Reply-to address *is* valid. "From" address is a blackhole.

"If you don't vote, you get morons in charge."
- Maurice Chavez (GTA Vice City)

Lobster wrote:
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting
that the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil*
stuff. What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with
it?
Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

David

Maplins, A05AQ

The silicone grease I used to use, for high vacuum work, was completely
colourless so I presume you could add additives to make it any colour
you wanted.

Graham

Jock. wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:33:10 GMT, Lobster wrote:


s--p--o--n--i--x wrote:

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:05:11 GMT, Lobster
wrote:


Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Is it silicone grease or the white zinc heatsink compound?

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)


If it's white then it's heatsink compound. Silicone grease is grey
and jelly-like. You're unlikely to find silicone grease on a heatsink
these days.

Jock.

In message , Lobster
writes
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting
that the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil*
stuff. What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

David

Ah, we have a term for this stuff at work.
Armpitotropic.

Basically if you use on some device, it very quickly finds its way
everywhere. On your trousers, shirt, armpits.

You can see why the thermal pad vendors can charge hideous money for a
little square of thermal pad, just to avoid the mess of having to use
these thermal greases!

--
steve

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Thanks
David

Silicone heatsink compound is white because it contains metal oxides to
help heat transfer.

Dave

--
For what we are about to balls up may common sense prevent us doing it
again
in the future!!

Dave Stanton wrote:

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Thanks
David


Silicone heatsink compound is white because it contains metal oxides to
help heat transfer.


The same oxides that used to be used on sticking plaster IIRC.

Anyway a solvent to dissove teh grease and dab it all of.
#
Dave

In message , The Natural
Philosopher writes
Dave Stanton wrote:

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Thanks
David
Silicone heatsink compound is white because it contains metal
oxides to
help heat transfer.


The same oxides that used to be used on sticking plaster IIRC.

Anyway a solvent to dissove teh grease and dab it all of.

Meths or isopropyl alcohol will dissolve the grease without being too
hostile to other things, but you'll need to work hard to get the zinc
oxide out. It wasn't used as a pigment for nothing...
--
Joe

In message , Joe
writes
In message , The Natural
Philosopher writes
Dave Stanton wrote:

Well, it's a white paste, and although it was me that originally applied
it, a long time ago, I haven't a clue what it's made of. Does 'white'
mean it must be zinc not silicone (and therefore I shouldn't try white
spirit?!)

Thanks
David
Silicone heatsink compound is white because it contains metal
oxides to
help heat transfer.


The same oxides that used to be used on sticking plaster IIRC.

Anyway a solvent to dissove teh grease and dab it all of.

Meths or isopropyl alcohol will dissolve the grease without being too
hostile to other things, but you'll need to work hard to get the zinc
oxide out. It wasn't used as a pigment for nothing...
The way I read it you have two options;

1) 'Darling, I'm getting tired of our soft furnishings. Let's head out
to John Lewis and buy something expensive, come on, it's only money'.

2) Poke your wife's eyes out so she never sees it.

Good luck,

Andy (who was eventually forgiven by his wife for burning a hole in the
landing carpet with a 200W light bulb)
--
Andrew Sinclair http://www.smellycat.org

In uk.d-i-y Andrew Sinclair wrote:
snip
1) 'Darling, I'm getting tired of our soft furnishings. Let's head out
to John Lewis and buy something expensive, come on, it's only money'.

2) Poke your wife's eyes out so she never sees it.

3) Learn uphoulstery, it's not hard.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
In uk.d-i-y Andrew Sinclair wrote:
snip
1) 'Darling, I'm getting tired of our soft furnishings. Let's head out
to John Lewis and buy something expensive, come on, it's only money'.

2) Poke your wife's eyes out so she never sees it.

3) Learn uphoulstery, it's not hard.

Learn to spell "upholstery", it's not hard ;-)

Has the OP tried the various things that have been suggested? Did any of
them work? And the crucial question: did he manage to clean off the stain
before SWMBO noticed it?

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

David

In the interests of science I've just experimented with a tube of PC
Processor heatsink compound and my fabric covered 'office' chair. My florist
wife swears by a preparation called "Mess Master", which appears to be
alcohol based, and it did a pretty good job of cleaning this gunk off. Adopt
a "dumb bloke" approach at the florist (especially if you buy HI flowers
too!) and explain your crisis, they'll probably 'give' you a part used can.
It wholesales at about £2.00 for a 400mil can.

Keith

On 28/02/2005 Keith wrote:

In the interests of science I've just experimented with a tube of PC
Processor heatsink compound and my fabric covered 'office' chair. My


Well that's above and beyond the call of duty, I hope you get a MBE in
the next honours list :-)

--
Jeff Gaines
Posted with XanaNews 1.17.2.7

"Jeff Gaines" wrote
| ... I've just experimented with a tube of PC Processor
| heatsink compound and my fabric covered 'office' chair.
| Well that's above and beyond the call of duty, I hope you
| get a MBE in the next honours list :-)

or a new chair in the next office furniture raffle

Owain

Martin Underwood wrote:

Has the OP tried the various things that have been suggested? Did any of
them work? And the crucial question: did he manage to clean off the stain
before SWMBO noticed it?

Well, he tried turps (is that the same as white spirit?) and meths,
neither of which had any effect at all. Thinking of resorting to a
camouflaging it with a marker pen of vaguely matching colour to the
fabric, as a last ditch attempt.

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking my
brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on the dog yet.

Thanks for all the advice
David

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Martin Underwood wrote:

Has the OP tried the various things that have been suggested? Did any of
them work? And the crucial question: did he manage to clean off the stain
before SWMBO noticed it?

Well, he tried turps (is that the same as white spirit?) and meths,
neither of which had any effect at all. Thinking of resorting to a
camouflaging it with a marker pen of vaguely matching colour to the
fabric, as a last ditch attempt.

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking my
brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on the dog yet.

Thinking laterally... It's a grubby white stain. Think of those white dog
poos that you sometimes see on the pavement. Could that be the "explanation"
for SWMBO? '-)

Martin Underwood wrote:
"Lobster" wrote in message
...

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking my
brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on the dog yet.

Thinking laterally... It's a grubby white stain. Think of those white dog
poos that you sometimes see on the pavement. Could that be the "explanation"
for SWMBO? '-)

Hmm, a perfect 1" square turd? Well, with the weird and wonderful stuff
our spaniel eats, maybe she'd buy it...

Actually, I thought white dog turds were a Thing Of The Past - it's
always one of those things that gets mentioned on TV or radio when
someone starts off one of those, "Eee, whatever happened to...." Wasn't
it a food additive or something?

You should have seen our garden last year after said spaniel had quaffed
a box of the kids' day-glo wax crayons. Bright pink poos, fluorescent
faeces and hi-vis turds all over the lawn. Very decorative.

David

In article ,
Lobster wrote:

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking
my brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on
the dog yet.

Tip a small drop of perfume on it and point the
finger at A.N Other.

--
Tony Williams.

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Martin Underwood wrote:
"Lobster" wrote in message
...

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking my
brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on the dog yet.

Thinking laterally... It's a grubby white stain. Think of those white dog
poos that you sometimes see on the pavement. Could that be the
"explanation" for SWMBO? '-)

Hmm, a perfect 1" square turd? Well, with the weird and wonderful stuff
our spaniel eats, maybe she'd buy it...

Actually, I thought white dog turds were a Thing Of The Past - it's always
one of those things that gets mentioned on TV or radio when someone starts
off one of those, "Eee, whatever happened to...." Wasn't it a food
additive or something?

That's true: I've not seen a white dog turd for years (he says
nostalgically!!). I presume it's caused by a lack of bile which could be a
dietary deficiency.

You should have seen our garden last year after said spaniel had quaffed a
box of the kids' day-glo wax crayons. Bright pink poos, fluorescent
faeces and hi-vis turds all over the lawn. Very decorative.

LOL. I'm surprised the idea hasn't appeared in the Tate Modern as
"installation art"!

In article , "Lobster"
says...
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

Have you tried working some washing up liquid into it with a
toothbrush then repeatedly rinsing with a sponge, dabbing with a dry
cloth and scrubbing some more?

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...
In article , "Lobster"
says...
Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!

Have you tried working some washing up liquid into it with a
toothbrush then repeatedly rinsing with a sponge, dabbing with a dry
cloth and scrubbing some more?

Probably worth taking the cover off and turning it inside out so that if the
bristles of the toothbrush tease out the fibres of the cloth, this happens
on the "wrong" side.

If all else fails, get the dog to pee on it: 1) you can blame the dog for
the stain; 2) the pee might bleach out the stain!

Martin Underwood wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...

Martin Underwood wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...

For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have been racking my
brains, but still haven't worked out how I can blame it on the dog yet.

Thinking laterally... It's a grubby white stain. Think of those white dog
poos that you sometimes see on the pavement. Could that be the
"explanation" for SWMBO? '-)

Hmm, a perfect 1" square turd? Well, with the weird and wonderful stuff
our spaniel eats, maybe she'd buy it...

Actually, I thought white dog turds were a Thing Of The Past - it's always
one of those things that gets mentioned on TV or radio when someone starts
off one of those, "Eee, whatever happened to...." Wasn't it a food
additive or something?


That's true: I've not seen a white dog turd for years (he says
nostalgically!!). I presume it's caused by a lack of bile which could be a
dietary deficiency.


I always assumed it was what happemned when rain weashed the **** out of
the turd, leaving only the bone fragments behiund.

People don't give dogs bones much these days.


You should have seen our garden last year after said spaniel had quaffed a
box of the kids' day-glo wax crayons. Bright pink poos, fluorescent
faeces and hi-vis turds all over the lawn. Very decorative.


LOL. I'm surprised the idea hasn't appeared in the Tate Modern as
"installation art"!

I think it has actually, but it was called 'Tracey Emins bedroom' or
something..:-)

Martin Underwood wrote:

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...

In article , "Lobster"
says...

Guess who put a heatsink down on a fabric-covered chair, forgetting that
the underside would be liberally buttered in this truly *evil* stuff.
What on earth will dissolve it without taking the chair with it?

Please help before she moves the cushion.... or I'm dead meat!


Have you tried working some washing up liquid into it with a
toothbrush then repeatedly rinsing with a sponge, dabbing with a dry
cloth and scrubbing some more?


Probably worth taking the cover off and turning it inside out so that if the
bristles of the toothbrush tease out the fibres of the cloth, this happens
on the "wrong" side.

If all else fails, get the dog to pee on it: 1) you can blame the dog for
the stain; 2) the pee might bleach out the stain!


Its not a stain though. Its just white powder. I am certain it waill
wash out with a mild solvent.

"Tony Williams" wrote
| Lobster wrote:
| For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have
| been racking my brains, but still haven't worked out
| how I can blame it on the dog yet.
| Tip a small drop of perfume on it and point the
| finger at A.N Other.

Look, he's in enough trouble when she finds out about the damaged furniture.
If she suspects he's having an affair as well...

I think the best thing is to make a similar stain on SWMBO's trousers, then
tell her she's sat in something in the bus/train/office and has brought it
home and transferred it to the furniture.

Owain

In message , Richard Cole
writes
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 11:58:33 GMT, Lobster
wrote:
Actually, I thought white dog turds were a Thing Of The Past - it's
always one of those things that gets mentioned on TV or radio when
someone starts off one of those, "Eee, whatever happened to...." Wasn't
it a food additive or something?
Several reasons spring to mind:

1) Dog owners don't feed their dogs bones anymore, so the calcium level of
the average turd is now almost nil.
2) Dog owners follow their dogs around with a pocket full of plastic bags
and pick up their animals turds.


3) Street cleaning is now more frequent than it used to be.
I think we can rule out that one.
--
Joe

"Owain" wrote in message
...
"Tony Williams" wrote
| Lobster wrote:
| For some reason, SWMBO hasn't clocked it yet. Have
| been racking my brains, but still haven't worked out
| how I can blame it on the dog yet.
| Tip a small drop of perfume on it and point the
| finger at A.N Other.

Look, he's in enough trouble when she finds out about the damaged
furniture.
If she suspects he's having an affair as well...

Yes, when in a hole, stop digging!


I think the best thing is to make a similar stain on SWMBO's trousers,
then tell her she's sat in something in the bus/train/office and has
brought it home and transferred it to the furniture.

Now that is a veritable masterplan. A mere mortal would make it look as if
*he* had sat in something. It takes a genius to make it look as if his SWMBO
has sat in something, thereby absolving himself of all responsibility, both
his original carelessness and the fake accident ;-)

"Jeff Gaines" wrote in message
...
On 28/02/2005 Keith wrote:

In the interests of science I've just experimented with a tube of PC
Processor heatsink compound and my fabric covered 'office' chair. My


Well that's above and beyond the call of duty, I hope you get a MBE in
the next honours list :-)

Perhaps I should confess that the chair has battle scars from serving
variously as a saw-horse, drill stand and paint roller-tray stand, and the
experiment actually increased the intrinsic value of the chair to that of a
tube of heat sink compound. Besides, when 'er indoors says "I bet
Mess-Master would get that out" one is duty bound to accept the challenge
:-)


Keith