Modifying Water Block

[NightReaver]

Hey there, so I recently purchased a Gigabyte 6700XT Eagle and went shopping for a waterblock. Decided to go with bykski (cheap), but it seems the Gigabyte pcb differs from the reference board a bit. I did find some posts on LTT from somebody who matched this exact block and gpu together with a bit of dremel work.

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1345767-gigabyte-rx-6700-xt-eagle-waterblock/?_fromLogin=1
(down towards the bottom)

Now I have a dremel already, but honestly have barely used it in years and never on acrylic. I sent the guy a message asking for more details, but does anyone here have any experience using a dremel on acrylic? Such as what type of sanding bits and how to go about polishing up when done? Any other tips/advice would be greatly appreciated as well, thank you!

Oh, and before anyone asks "Why bother?" in the 1st place, it's because I already have a water loop and I like doing it as a hobby.

 

[pendragon1]

oh thats totally doable and not even close to any water. use high grit to hog it out, then go lower and lower to smooth it out and then polish it with silver/copper/plastic polish

 

[NightReaver]

oh thats totally doable and not even close to any water. use high grit to hog it out, then go lower and lower to smooth it out and then polish it with silver/copper/plastic polish

So this is totally overkill, but would this range of sanding drum grits be what I'm looking for?
https://www.amazon.com/Coceca-Sandi...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

As for polishing, I know they have the standard grit buffing wheels, the soft white pads and whatnot, and then there's polishing pastes. What would be my best bet? Again, noob questions but I've never worked on plastics before lol.

 

[pendragon1]

So this is totally overkill, but would this range of sanding drum grits be what I'm looking for?
https://www.amazon.com/Coceca-Sanding-Sleeves-Mandrels-Self-Tightening/dp/B07NVGBSRT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=dremel+sanding+drums&qid=1647468536&sprefix=dremel+sand,aps,81&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExWk1PUTkwWVUzOEZFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODc1ODk2MTY3VlNUTUY0Qzg4RCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjE4MjU3M0M1UVU0RVQ0WUozNSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

As for polishing, I know they have the standard grit buffing wheels, the soft white pads and whatnot, and then there's polishing pastes. What would be my best bet? Again, noob questions but I've never worked on plastics before lol.

that will be fine for the "rough" work but if you want it to be as close to the oem finish as possible youll need to go up to 1500+ grit and then polish it(already listed paste options) with the white pad thing.

 

[NightReaver]

that will be fine for the "rough" work but if you want it to be as close to the oem finish as possible youll need to go up to 1500+ grit and then polish it(already listed paste options) with the white pad thing.

Ah, I completely blanked out and missed the mention of pastes. Alrighty time to go shopping. Thanks again.

 

[pendragon1]

Ah, I completely blanked out and missed the mention of pastes. Alrighty time to go shopping. Thanks again.

no prob. watch the speed on the dremel, as too fast can melt the acrylic. just looking at those pics closer and most of that plate is just for looks, you could literally just chop the ends off all the way past the caps and it would have zero effect on it. hmmmm....

 

[NightReaver]

no prob. watch the speed on the dremel, as too fast can melt the acrylic. just looking at those pics closer and most of that plate is just for looks, you could literally just chop the ends off all the way past the caps and it would have zero effect on it. hmmmm....

View attachment 454447

That would be an option, but I'd like to preserve most of it as possible. It's an option if I noob out and totally wreck something however

 

[pendragon1]

That would be an option, but I'd like to preserve most of it as possible. It's an option if I noob out and totally wreck something however

"worst case ontario" just giving myself ideas as im in the same situation with my 5700, i know the bykski block is close but not quite....
go slow, use medium-ish speed and id start with that big corner. its pretty simple and its more about having the balls to start into it.

 

[NightReaver]

Well guess we won't know for a month or so. Going to order from their aliexpress store because when going cheap, might as well min max on the "cheap".

 

[drutman]

Use this diamond paste for final stage.
https://techdiamondtools.com/product/diamond-polishing-compounds-set-of-3-syringes/

 

[NightReaver]

Little update: So I was able to get a XFX 6700xt for much cheaper that also fits the bykski block with no modifications.

Guess I won't end up doing this project, but thanks for the tips nonetheless!