Apply heatsink TIM under distilled water?

Ok, since air is such an issue with heatsink TIM application, I just had a thought: is there a (somewhat) simple way that would eliminate %100 of all air gaps?

So, an experiment I thought of:

Try submerging a heatsink (if possible just the platform which contacts the GPU/CPU) in a bath of distilled water, tap and vibrate the heatsink to release any microscopic air pockets, apply and smear a thin layer of non soluble TIM to the entire heatsink, and then let whatever bits of water are left slowly boil out after heating it up and forcing it to evaporate though the TIM. Then use the rice method on the already existing bed of TIM that was made. I understanding boiling makes the water into a gas, but I think it might force itself out unlike normal air would.

Anyone feel like trying it? lol. I might have a spare heatsink lying around here I can try later but right now I don't have TIM to test it with.

 

Sounds a lot harder than just doing a good paste job the normal way..

 

Sounds like a need to dig out my scuba gear to re-paste my cpu/gpu

John.

 

water and electronics. the perfect mix.

 

The water doesn't just disappear and there is no promise that it would just pass through the TIM evenly and peacefully. In the end, you would still end up with pockets that would have been eliminated by a decent paste job.

This is also completely ignoring the water + electronics equation!

 

Well then, submerge it in 99% isopropyl alcohol, see if it survives.

 

Distilled water doesn't conduct electricity, but you still have to deal with corrosion if you don't dry it 100%. As someone mentioned, it's probably not worth the hassle over just pasting it the normal way.

 

Errrr the big problem if some pat of the board dissolves and ions can then conduct and you get a board wide short.

 

to everyone reading this thread, please do not try this at home. it's a recepie for disaster.

 

It`s only the heatsink he`s talking about not the cpu.

John.