Removing old thermal paste with these products.

[eltocliousus]

I'll be replacing the old, crappy, generic thermal paste for some new MX-4 today but they don't sell 70% rubbing alcohol or higher in the UK, so I'm stuck with a few others things that might work.

1. Some nail polish remover, ingredients here:


Although I heard acetone was bad.

2. Generic mouthwash with ingredients here:


3. I heard a technique with using dishsoap water and a toothbrush and just rub the processor with it including the pins, basically drenching it in water, this doesn't seem super reliable to me and almost scary, here's a picture of the soap I'll be using with the water:

And if I should use this method with the toothbrush, how and how long should I dry it?

4. There's also some 37.5% Smirnoff vodka I could use, had no ingredients on the back so I didn't take a picture.

Thankyou for all/any replies, I appreciate it!

 

[capttripppp]

Umm.... I use just plain old rubbing alcohol, some paper towel, and some Q-tips

 

[eltocliousus]

I can't buy rubbing alcohol over here except some cheapy 30% stuff.

 

[capttripppp]

Maybe Vodka then, I'm not sure how well it evaporates. I personally would not use soap and water, or mouthwash. I guess I would use nail polish remover if it was in a pinch, but I am not so experienced as some of the other people on this forum. I don't know if it leaves a film behind or what, but I also remember being told not to use nail polish remover

 

[eltocliousus]

There's really mixed feeling on removing thermal paste, tonnes of forum posts all stating different things, that's where I got the soapy water method from.

 

[capttripppp]

Personally I would just be very wary of getting water on my cpu. That's just me, any water closer then the cooling block on a WC setup I would shy away from. But again, that's just me

 

[snowbrd]

Citrus juices?

 

[capttripppp]

Not sure about what the acid in the juice would do besides removing the TPaste.

 

[snowbrd]

Well on the artic silver cleaner theres a very citrus smell so I think they put some in.

 

[SupaMonkey]

why not just buy arctic clean?

 

[Nebulous]

Rubbing alcohol (70% or better) and paper coffee filters. The best and cheap method.

DO NOT USE ACETONE! It contains oils and other impurities.
DO NOT USE SOAP and/or WATER! (This is self explanatory)
Do Not use paper towels. They leave alot of lint behind.

If you cannot buy rubbing alcohol from a pharmacy because of your age, have an adult buy it for you.

 

[SmartDriver]

I saw on a video this guy was using some sort of wet napkin to wipe clean the thermal paste. It looked like a wet napkin that you would find in a seafood restaurant that you can tear open and has a lemon scent after you eat all those crabs or lobster.

I don't think you have to use anything too potent. Just let it dry for 30mins to 1 hours if you want to be safe.

 

[mbentley]

I saw on a video this guy was using some sort of wet napkin to wipe clean the thermal paste. It looked like a wet napkin that you would find in a seafood restaurant that you can tear open and has a lemon scent after you eat all those crabs or lobster.

I don't think you have to use anything too potent. Just let it dry for 30mins to 1 hours if you want to be safe.

most wet naps are just essentially alcohol pads. the only thing you might consider is that they could possibly contain more than just alcohol but those may not be a bad idea if you use alcohol pads.

i would personally stick to any sort of rubbing alcohol, even if it is 70%, over some of the other suggestions. in any case, i just get a small amount of the rubbing alcohol on a lint free cloth that i have dedicated to thermal paste and start rubbing in a circular motion until most of the product is off. then i give it another cleaning with a clean spot of the towel to remove any additional residue. i would never apply any sort of cleaning product no matter it is directly to the processor or heatsink. always apply it to a towel first.

 

[pbcranium202]

I would use alcohol. Doesn't matter if its just 30%, its just diluted. It may just take a couple more tries to get everything off, and a little longer for it to evaporate. That's about it. If you're wary about that, then find an online site that carries one of the inumerous thermal paste cleansers. I used this before I realized how much easier alcohol is. You should be able to find it or something similar. But again, even if its only 30%, I would suggest the alcohol.

Definitely don't go with soap and water or any type of vodka. They contain impurities that will not evaporate.

 

[dealmaster]

Rubbing alcohol (70% or better) and paper coffee filters. The best and cheap method.

DO NOT USE ACETONE! It contains oils and other impurities.
DO NOT USE SOAP and/or WATER! (This is self explanatory)
Do Not use paper towels. They leave alot of lint behind.

If you cannot buy rubbing alcohol from a pharmacy because of your age, have an adult buy it for you.

What he said. Use 91% rubbing alcohol if you can get it.

 

[SupaMonkey]

I disagree, i used 95% alcohol and it's not nearly as good as the product designed to take off old TIM.

 

[Seebs]

I've used rubbing alcohol, arctic clean when cleaning my CPUs... both worked extremely well.

I also use the same cleaning wipes that I use for keeping my screens clean when I'm cleaning the base of the heatsinks... These also work perfectly well.

 

[pwnmachine]

Alcohol wipes ftw !

I have used arctic clean in the past, it works great but can get kinda messy.

 

[SupaMonkey]

Actually my statement wasn't accurate. I used 95% alcohol on the TIM that acts like glue (i think it was mx-2) and it wasn't very good. I don't know how good rubbing alcohol would be on the other stuff.

 

[wagex]

most of the time i can get away with just wiping it clean with a dry paper towell or coffee filter takes a bit longer but works all the same just keep wiping till nothing or very little comes off, i usually use either 50% and 70% rubbing alcohol and never could tell a difference.

where are you located eltocliousus that you can only get 30%?