Lapping Results

ThraxThrax 🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
edited July 2009 in Hardware
Some people have expressed interest in seeing the results of my lapping process. It is as follows:

Dry sand on soft emery paper.
Wet sand on 280 grit.
Wet sand on 320 grit.
Wet sand on 480 grit.
Wet sand on 600 grit.
Wet sand on 900 grit.
Wet sand on 1500 grit.
Cotton cloth smeared w/ Colgate toothpaste.
Brasso metal polish.
Buffing with plush cotton cloth.

And these are the results:

Base of the Thermalright HR-01:
attachment.php?attachmentid=23748&stc=1&d=1186558789

IHS on a Core 2 Duo E6420:
attachment.php?attachmentid=23747&stc=1&d=1186558789

My photography is obviously terrible (WHATZ DEPTH OF FIELD PRECIOUSS), but you can see that the bases are flawless and mirror-shined.

Comments

  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    I was trying to figure out where the heatsink was in the first picture.... OH!!! The camera image IS the heatsink!!!!

    :wow2: That's smooth!!! :wow2:
  • RyderRyder Kalamazoo, Mi Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Flat is the goal, shiny is just Bling ;):p
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    QCH2002 wrote:
    I was trying to figure out where the heatsink was in the first picture.... OH!!! The camera image IS the heatsink!!!!

    :wow2: That's smooth!!! :wow2:

    I did too... the whole tone of both the images made me think it was an UP CLOSE picture of the heatsink and it's reflection for some reason... blew my mind. :tongue:
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited August 2007
    Looks good, Thrax! :thumbsup:
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    That's like a bagillion times better than my results. I think part of my problem is a bad work space, though. What kind of surface do you sand on? Last time, I just laid the sandpaper on a glass table and worked the heatsink base on top of it, but it was difficult to keep the sandpaper still enough to not cause inconsistencies.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    I just used a dining room table, laid a pane of glass on that, then moved the base in gentle circles with as little pressure as possible.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    And it lowered your temps how much?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    By 10C on the CPU.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    it was difficult to keep the sandpaper still enough to not cause inconsistencies
    Very simple fix - secure the sandpaper to the flat surface with masking tape.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    Very simple fix - secure the sandpaper to the flat surface with masking tape.

    yup, i duct-taped my paper to the glass and had no problems with it moving around.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Oops, I wrote "masking" tape. No, I don't think that would work very well. I meant duct tape. That does work.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Sometimes simple things elude me. Believe it or not, I have tried both masking tape and scotch tape before. With predictable results.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Very impressive results. About how much time did each component take to lap down?
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    yeah, how long per step?
  • WingaWinga Mr South Africa Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    With both surfaces so shiny and flat would it still be necessary to apply thermal paste? Seems a sacrilege.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Yeah Coke Products rule :)

    Hey Thrax, what type of thermal paste you using?

    I think an article is in order for this :)
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Winga wrote:
    With both surfaces so shiny and flat would it still be necessary to apply thermal paste? Seems a sacrilege.

    I've heard it suggested that a mirror surface is actually undesirable, because as long as the surface is flat, very small grooves would allow the thermal paste to increase the surface area for heat transfer.

    That seems logical to me, but if Thrax is decreasing his temps by 10*C, I won't worry about it too much :D
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    I work to get mine very flat, but I quite at 800grit and let the paste do its job. If they are flat enough you only need enough paste to fill the 'holes'. It will be see through.
    One way to check flat is to color one part with a marker, set them together, and move them just a small amount. When you take them apart the color should be uniform on the surface.
  • SPIKE09SPIKE09 Scatland
    edited August 2007
    Ooh shinies, couldn't figure out the 1st picture last night after a few beers, until i noticed the writing on the camera was backwards. nice work Thrax
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited September 2007
    While not as nice as Thrax's lapping results... here's my first attempt with an AMD Aluminum heatsink...

    BEFORE

    1323773106_b66130d2ba.jpg?v=01322879651_1c741df3a9.jpg?v=0

    1323773924_e1b5e240da.jpg?v=0
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2007
    Looks real nice. Worlds better than before - but how flat did it turn out? The image of the PS2 adapter makes it appear a bit convex.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited September 2007
    I set the wet heatsink down on the counter and could not pick it up. The serface tention was too great to pick it up. I had to pop the corner up first.... That's the only think that makes me believe it's flat.

    Is there another way to determine if it's flat? :scratch:

    The edges may be a bit rounded over... it's a AMD Athlon Heatsink so only the center touches anything. ;)
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2007
    You're right - it would be flat in the center, I'm sure it will be much better than stock on the chip. Have you assembled it yet?
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited September 2007
    Nope.... This was a test run on my "lapping skilz". Didn't want to screw up a really nice heatsink. ;D

    My next project will be my work PC's Dell heatsink. Darn think never was lapped correctly and has always been crappy. That one is copper... I'll take some pictures before and after!!! ;)
  • AlphaTrinityAlphaTrinity North Wales, PA
    edited November 2007
    I just bought the sandpaper and Brasso today to lap my heatsink and cpu this week :)

    So I just place the heatsink/cpu onto the sandpaper and lightly rotate it until I can move onto the finer grit?

    I'm going to practice on an AMD aluminum heatsink before moving onto my real project. My real heatsink has a smaller surface than the AMD heatsink..so I assume it will be easier to lap than the practice will be. I'll be sure to post pics of course :thumbsup:
  • AlphaTrinityAlphaTrinity North Wales, PA
    edited November 2007
    Well I did a pretty bad job with the practice heatsink..so I didn't push my luck with the real one. This is as good as I got it before quitting. It's plenty better than it was..but not the mirror I hoped it would be.
    It's pretty blurry..oops
    P10100182.jpg

    ADDED: Lowered my temps about 8*C under full load :) Can't wait to get the Antec 900 yet..then I can finally do some serious overclocking
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited November 2007
    Im thinking about lapping my heatsink and cpu, but i already get 19-20*c with everything the way it is. i just dont think it will be worth voiding my cpu warranty. We'll see what kind of OC i can get on my new board and what my temps look like before i do anything.
  • SonorousSonorous F@H Fanatic US Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    Lapped my q6600 pretty much the same way and got the same results. Only difference is I went 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit. I used two sheets of 600 and 2000, and one of the rest. I used the back and forth method (30 reps per side) until the 1500 grit. Then I did 20 reps back and forth and then 20 reps of a figure 8 per side.
  • GldmGldm New York, NY
    edited June 2009
    I have to do another couple CPUs soon. Always a fun job, I'll try to get some pics.

    Tip for getting it really flat: Polished porcelain tiles have a surface smoother than glass and harder than steel, and cost under $10 each. ;)
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited July 2009
    QCH wrote:
    While not as nice as Thrax's lapping results... here's my first attempt with an AMD Aluminum heatsink...

    BEFORE

    1323773106_b66130d2ba.jpg?v=01322879651_1c741df3a9.jpg?v=0

    1323773924_e1b5e240da.jpg?v=0

    That looks like an old Globalwin FOP32 heatsink? :tongue:
    I had one for my old T-Bird 900@1000 MHz. (I actually still have it ;) )

    I lapped it as well, resulting in a mirror like finish.
    It was some years ago but I taped the sandpaper to a pane of glass, that worked out nicely.
    Oh I forgot IIRC it lowered the temp by apprx. 8-10C, which is very nice all things considered.
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