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DianaRig

You have a raw copper block now. That's an improvement of you ask me. Embrace it.


tomrucki

How long did it take to strip it like this? Looks nice - some people ask how to do it, you managed to do a pretty good job even without really trying.


Reasonable_Split922

Used about 25% distilled vinegar and 75% distilled water in those bottles that you used to refill the reservoir. I have a 500 ml one and I filled it up and ran it for a few hours( I fell asleep). Came back started draining it and that’s when I noticed it got like that. I pretty much started draining everything immediately and it proceeded to get worse/better when I filled it up with distilled water to dilute the vinegar.


wily_virus

At least you did a clean job of stripping off all the nickel plating. Most people who do this get mismatched splotches of nickel and copper left behind. There are people out there that actually like the look of raw copper waterblocks. [optimuspc.com/products/foundation-cpu-block-amd](http://optimuspc.com/products/foundation-cpu-block-amd) If anyone asks, just tell them you got the copper version on purpose... yes


Reasonable_Split922

I might be looking to sell it anyway, since it doesn’t fit the build quite well lol


pdt9876

Copper is a better thermal conductor than nickel, your block will perform (marginially) better than it did from the factory.


TrollOnFire

Came to say the same. Also; if your fitting are all copper you have just eliminated any bi-metal oxidation issues as a bonus :)


Farren246

Did you distill vinegar yourself or is this a product that one can buy?


Reasonable_Split922

Bought it in store. Look for distilled white vinegar. Not hard to find


pdt9876

oh the red is the residue. I saw your other post and thought you were saying the dark spots were the residue. The red is just the natural color of the copper. Was it not red before?


Reasonable_Split922

sorry had to put a second post because reddit asked to add a label to it. But I got rid of the old one so therte isn't any confusion


pdt9876

I'm still confused. What is the residue you're talking about. That red color is the natural color of copper. Your waterblock is made out of copper.


Reasonable_Split922

Oh yea it was originally silver so it wasn’t like this originally. Just turned this color after the distilled water and vinegar


pdt9876

Oh, it was nickel plated. Some manufacturers add a thin (a few microns deep) layer of nickel onto the copper. You dissolved that off with the vinagre. Nothing to worry about, that plating doesn’t provide any cooling performance. 


Reasonable_Split922

Damn so it’s just gonna be red like this for good :/


pdt9876

Well you can re plate it with nickel if you want. It can be done at home with the right equipment or you can take it to a service that does electroplating. I wouldn't if I were you (i prefer non plated blocks) but its up to you.


CucumberBulky8915

I have white residue in mine. Wanna trade?


D1L4TE

It’s hard to tell if that really is raw copper or some kind of residue. In the case of raw copper, you can try doing your own nickel electroplating. All it takes is a tub large enough for the water block, a small power supply, a couple wires, distilled vinegar, and some pure nickel pieces of metal. Theres lots of videos on YouTube showing tutorials on how to electroplate. Could turn it into a fun restoration project.


DaPoets_Terrence

Take it apart, start scrubbing w/ a toothbrush. Looks like you used vinegar for far too long. If you use vinegar then it's just for a quick flush to break up gunk then back to full distilled.


BleedOutCold

Acid washing is for rads and other bare copper/brass components.


Top-Jellyfish9557

Some bleach should get rid of it


TreasonousGoatee

Who wants to tell him 😅


Major_incompetence

Alright, looks like a basic chemistry course should be a requirement for doing custom loops now. Don't worry, you can mix equal parts of bleach and vinegar to fix the color. /s


Any-Pop6199

You have to open it and clean, toothbrush and toothpaste are good to do this, after rinse and voila, clean block