Thermal Pad Removal

[WinFlex]

I've got a XP1800+, that's all nice and good. Bad thing is that the core has one of those nasty thermal pads stuck to it. What's the best way of getting rid of the thermal pad (removing it from both core and the bottom of the sink), without damaging any components? What solvents work best for removing the pad?
I mean I could always lap the sink, but how in the world will I get that nasty pad of the core?

Thanks alot for the advice, Felix

[elitemetalx]

i tried so many things.. i tried cleaning alcohol.. some other stuff.. but this thing called goo gone took the stuff right off

[Zer0fight3r]

I've had a Thermal pad totally melt on me, And that toasted a CPU :O

[wildfrogman]

Paint thinner, really strong stuff like degreaser stuff for engines work but you better do it outside. The powerfull stuff works so much better than nail polish remover stuff or rubbing alcohol, etc. I would also polish the contact area of the heatsink with arctic silver and that helps it fill all the micro holes~pits etc a bit better.

[Zer0fight3r]

Good Idea ;)

[JokerHCG]

More than likely you're gonna have to buy a new heatsink. The thing about a thermal pad is that it uses a paraffin compound(wax) so once you heat up the pad the wax fills the crevices and it wont come out(much like an egg when you cook it in a pan). Your best attempt is to get some sandpaper and lap it down about .5-1 mm.

[Diggrr]

I use zippo lighter fluid (naptha). A couple of drops on a q-tip, and use the q-tip to do the cleaning. You may need a couple.
As for any parrafin residue, a quick lapping will take care of that.

[SniperXX]

I used paint thinner and it worked great, just lap the heat sink.

[RnPgrosz]

Dish detergent works pretty well.

[wildfrogman]

yep i forgot about that with the wax type stuff cooking into the heatsink, lap it with a fine sand paper and then polish the contact area with arctic silver or the like and that should help you drop temps a bit.

[Colin]

Goo Gone and paint thinner will leave a residue. The best solvent for this is xylene (Goof Off) followed by IPA. An old credit card makes a great scraper.

[Shuruga2]

its true that goo gone will leave an oily residue, but it works great and the residue can be cleaned up easily with a little rubbing alcohol.

[Mizzery]

Originally posted by Colin
The best solvent for this is xylene (Goof Off) followed by IPA.

Where can i get this stuff?

[Zazuk]

WD40 works great.

[Zazuk]

Goof Off works even better.

[Colin]

WD40 has the same problem that Goo Gone does. Don't use them! Alcohol or other solvents won't remove all the residue. Think of this on a microscopic scale. Using a Q-Tip and alcohol to clean up an oily residue is like using a 4" diameter rope to clean a waffle iron. It doesn't work very well.

Goof Off is available at Target, Wal Mart, and most hardware stores.

[Colin]

WD40 has the same problem that Goo Gone does. Don't use them! Alcohol or other solvents won't remove all the residue. Think of this on a microscopic scale. Using a Q-Tip and alcohol to clean up an oily residue is like using a 4" diameter rope to clean a waffle iron. It doesn't work very well.

Goof Off is available at Target, Wal Mart, and most hardware stores.

[macklin01]

I think WD-40 is even slightly worse than the others (and the arctic silver page specifically warns not to use it.) Its molecules are so small that they go much farther into the metal than parafin. It also is engineered to not evaporate.

On the other hand, AS, say's it's okay on ceramics. Strange.

See http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm for further details.

Here's the relevant quote:
Never use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus based grease removers and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.

-- Paul

[Colin]

The "ceramic" referred to at Arctic Silver's Web Site is the package older Athlon cores are mounted on. It does not refer to the CPU core.

[roYal]

Originally posted by WinFlex
I've got a XP1800+, that's all nice and good. Bad thing is that the core has one of those nasty thermal pads stuck to it. What's the best way of getting rid of the thermal pad (removing it from both core and the bottom of the sink), without damaging any components? What solvents work best for removing the pad?
I mean I could always lap the sink, but how in the world will I get that nasty pad of the core?

Thanks alot for the advice, Felix


Try a alcohol swab. This has worked for me. I hope this works, try it out.

[WinFlex]

Lapped the sink down with 600 grit sandpaper, water, and some dish detergent. Then removed the pad with a plastic scraper, followed by some pure acetone which I inturn removed with IPA. Used AS3 thermal compound, applied it according to instructoins. Now the cooler is stock, so it's not the best, but I still observed the following temp drops:

Before:
Idle 45C
Load 52C

After:
Idle 42C
Load 48-49C

Not bad for an hour's work :)... Four in the morning, going to bed now. Thanks for all the good advice!

[macklin01]

Nice work!! It's amazing what an hour of lapping can do!

Take it easy! :) -- Paul