Yep. Aluminum frame is super soft and easy to cut. I also drilled the holes to mount the sinks a little bigger than the screw diameter but smaller than the washer. It will give you some flexibility if your hole is a little off the mark.
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@ReikoX 's got it right. I don’t recommend using TIM grease or paste to mount SolStix, because I don’t believe its necessary if you use the nylon mounting screws supplied with the 'stix. And that’s mainly, because of the distributed diode design and enormous, relative to COB designs, copper tracing and aluminum backing area that does such a better job removing heat from the diodes in the first place that a little inefficiency at the heatsink interface is easily tolerated.
SolSinks are manufactured to close tolerances as to twist and bend, and then machined flat before adding an anodized black or red coating. The anodization is not only cosmetic, it enhances heat dissipation both at the PCB and atmospheric interfaces, and creates an even more efficient surface for direct thermal transfer from the aluminum strip backing.
But if you’re a belt-and-suspenders type you can certainly add a TIM. If you decide to do so, I’d recommend using thermal grease rather than paste, so that the SolStrips can be removed easily at a later date. Apply as with COBs, as thin and even a layer as possible. If you choose to permanently adhere the strips, I’d recommend considering TIM tape, the tests I’ve seen suggest it is just as effective as paste, and far less messy:
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Makes a lot of sense.
One thing to note; at least half the people who refer to “thermal paste” are really talking about “thermal grease”. 
That article you linked to is a perfect example. He calls Arctic Silver 5 “thermal paste”, but it is not a paste (adhesive), it is thermal compound (“grease”). Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5
That’s why I like to use the term "thermal compound’ when being specific or “TIM” when talking about these materials in general.
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You’re right! I called it paste when in fact it was the Artic Silver grease that I used. Thanks for clarifying. I learn something new here every day!
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so shouldn’t toothpaste be called tooth compound? 
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Technically, yes, although I think it depends which “version” of English you speak. Certainly not “tooth grease”, however. 
Here in Canada, we don’t typically use the word “paste” to refer to adhesives (“glue” is much more common), but I know our U.K. friends do say “paste” when talking about glue - so it’s all a bit… uncertain. It makes me wonder if it seems weird to people of the U.K. to hear or say “tooth paste” - which to you folks must literally mean “tooth glue”.
I think this is the crux of the “thermal paste” conundrum. When I read this combination of words, I force myself to assume they do not mean “thermal adhesive”, but rather they are simply incorrectly referring to thermal grease/compound as “thermal paste”. However, sometimes people really do mean “thermal adhesive” when they say “thermal paste” so I am probably fucked one way or they other.
Which is why I love the terms “thermal compound” and “thermal adhesive”. There’s just no doubt what they mean, regardless of what version of English one speaks.
(There’s a joke about Brits’ teeth in there somewhere, but I held back the effort to find it.)
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I totally agree with you. I was just pulling your leg I’m what they call in the UK a “geordie” people who are not from Newcastle most the time can’t understand a word we say. We are the UKs “legal aliens”
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Yeh, I got that you were messing around. Often when I sound like I am being very serious, you can assume I am also messing around. I find humour in ridiculous explanations.
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I usually call it heatsink paste, old habits…
btw we usually say glue when we mean adhesive and paste is almost always a non setting gunk of some sort like toothpaste, grinding paste etc.
About the only exception i can think of is paper, while it’s glue for almost everything else it suddenly becomes paste when it’s for sticking paper. Wallpaper paste is a good example.
The English language must be very difficult to master… it’s a good thing i have no compunction to master anything
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Well then “paste” is actually much closer in definition (between UK and Canada) than I first thought.
We Canadians don’t use the word “paste” much to refer to glue, but like you said, when we do it is typically used with paper. Some (not a lot) people refer to that white glue in school as “paste”.
Not surprising really, because we also know how to spell colour, neighbour, etc. correctly.
I just realized that (other than my update in my grow diary) nearly every one of my posts on OG today was totally off-topic. I apologize for this. I’m in a very strange mood today.
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lol maybe i should apologize too then, more than half of my posts are completely off topic
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paste noun
\ ˈpāst
Definition of paste (Entry 1 of 3)
1
- a dough that contains a considerable proportion of fat and is used for pastry crust or fancy rolls
- a confection made by evaporating fruit with sugar or by flavoring a gelatin, starch, or gum arabic preparation
- a smooth food product made by evaporation or grinding
- tomato paste
- almond paste
- a shaped dough (such as spaghetti or ravioli) prepared from semolina, farina, or wheat flour
2
- a soft plastic mixture or composition: such as
* a preparation usually of flour or starch and water used as an adhesive or a vehicle for mordant or color
* clay or a clay mixture used in making pottery or porcelain
* a thick but viscous fluid
3
- a brilliant glass of high lead content used for the manufacture of artificial gems
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Do you mean permanently adhere the strips to the heat sinks with the thermal tape alone?
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You spelt “Wanker” wrong 
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dickhead. I was taught by the best wasn’t i? 
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Yes, TIM tape is all you need. We’ve used it alone very successfully in hundreds of SolSheets without fail.
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