Cleaning HDD Heads & Platters

xavior007

New member
Thanks guys for the responses, I think I will hold off on the acidic stuff until I have some test subjects, but I like the idea. As for the acetone is there any risk to the platter if you leave it submerged for several hours?
 

Jared

Administrator
Staff member
I've never left it on for that long, so I can't say. Perhaps someone else has. I usually just douse it and then wipe down with swabs.

But then I've never dealt with any which are quite so corroded as yours. Usually, I've just been trying to remove some dust or fingerprints from a previous company's failed attempts.
 

Jared

Administrator
Staff member
I've heard a mixed bag of results from ultrasonic cleaning efforts. Some swear they've had good success, while most have said they saw no benefit to it. It's a technique I've been wanting to experiment with more myself to really see, but I haven't had the time to do the research into it.
 

pclab

Moderator
I have been tempted myself to buy one to try, but I'm not very happy to spend 100€ on one to after it gathers dust....
I'm trying to get one borrowed..
 

Jared

Administrator
Staff member
I was talking to a guy on Skype today who claims here's been using ultrasonic to clean heads for about 4 years with fair results. He doesn't use the beaker inside the tank, but he said you can only leave it in for around 30 seconds or you'll risk sliders popping loose.
 

LarrySabo

Member
I assume the beaker was used because of the volatility of the cleaning solution, 99.9% IPA, perhaps. The problem with IPA is that it absorbs water from the air so quickly that it quickly becomes diluted and will leave a scum on surfaces. Acetone is very risky to use in large, open quantities but that's what I find works best for cleaning platters. When Acetone is used on a swab, I usually end up with curled-up heads, so I can imagine what 30 seconds in an UC would do to them. Do you know what he used, Jared?
 
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