goo gone?

is it ok to use on the cpu to get rid of the grease from AS2/AS3

yeah, its alright to use to get tid of it, but what i would do to get rid of the grease 100% is lapping it just a bit with a high grit sandpaper (around 600-1000) then cleaning up with high purity alcohol, using goo gone then alcohol would be the ez way out i guess....

I would try to avoid using Goo Gone as it leaves a microscopic residue in the pits and valleys of the metal.

He asked about using it on his cpu, not his heatsink.

You can use it on your cpu, but your better off using the highest % Alcohol you can find. I use 91% but I think you can find higher.
You have to be careful with Goo Gone it can eat through certain things. If you use it on your cpu, you really should use the alcohol after it.
I had a cpu that had some kind of thermal gum all around the core from a previous user. Goo Gone took it off very easy, but I followed up after using it with alcohol.

Ditto the above statements. Just try and limit any amount of time it sets on the processor.

91% or 99% alcohol works really well for me, I even have Akasa TIM clean and alcohol works just as well.

I was reading about it, and it says its got citrus oils or jucise or something so I would avoid it.

Carberator cleaner is my choice of cleaner, as it does a good job and doesn't harm the chip.

crull said:

He asked about using it on his cpu, not his heatsink.

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OK, Goo Gone's active ingredient is Petroleum Naphtha and should not be used on the Processors die for the same reasons I mentioned above, but to clean the PCB it could be used no problem at all.
Petroleum Naphtha may contain Parafins and may oxidize the metals


Reading the MSDS it mentions avoiding materials that may Oxidize, and a heatsink and a CPU Die comes to mind.

The best bet would be to get some Acetone at Home Depot, its cheap and does the job without leaving a residue.

rxc said:

91% or 99% alcohol works really well for me, I even have Akasa TIM clean and alcohol works just as well.

Click to expand...

Akasa TIM cleaner also leaves a residue and is a lousy product.

Yeah, I wouldn't buy it again, but it leaves minimal residue, it does somewhat dissolve the TIM (Pad), and I clean with alcohol afterwards.

If you don't have a pad use alcohol or whatever you prefer, but if you have a stubborn pad form TIM, the Akasa stuff works.

When he said Goo Gone, I was thinking he meant Goof off which is fine to use on the cpu or heatsink, but I would still clean it after that with a high % Alcohol.
I don't think Goo Gone would hurt the die, but I would use Alcohol after it. Same goes for the heatsink. If the Goo Gone has any kind of oils in it I wouldn't use it at all.
Pure acetone or fingernail polish without any kind of oils will work also, but again use alcohol after it.

Here's what you should do, drive to a drug store and get some 91% or higher alcohol and that's all you need. If you can't drive or don't drive yet...have someone take you. Use the alcohol and nothing else, unless you got something on the die that doesn't come off like I had with mine. Then in that case use something stronger like specified below which I got off the Arctic Silver web site, but again use Alcohol after that;
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ONLY Arctic Silver thermal compound should be between the processor core and the heatsink. Remove any thermal pads or other interface material from the heatsink before applying the Arctic Silver. Thermal pads can be scraped off with a plastic tool that will not scratch the bottom then the remnants can be removed with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) acetone, mineral spirits, Akasa TIM-Clean, or high-purity isopropyl alcohol.
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