Removing old thermal paste with these products.

[Seebs]

@ SupaMonkey

From personal experience with rubbing alcohol...

OEM TIM --> The stuff that comes with the stock heatsinks for the cpu and also on the heatsinks on the motherboards --> This stuff is almost always baked on and will require lots of work to get it completely off the surface, especially the one they use on the Gigabyte motherboards for the northbridge and southbridge chips.

Arctic Silver 5 --> Cleans right off with just a bit of elbow grease.

Shin Etsu G751 --> Cleans right off with very little effort.

Thermalright Chill Factor 3 --> Cleans right off with very little effort.

IC Diamond --> This stuff is thick and will need a bit of work to get it all off the chip regardless of what cleaning product is used.

Ceramique --> This comes right off; all that is needed is to put a drop of alcohol, or Arctic Clean on it and let it dissolve for a few seconds.

So basically all TIMs will require you to do a bit of work... But it's not so hard that it requires any special skills.

 

[TsunamiJuan]

Laquer thinner works quite well usually, its a mix of acetone and alcohol, Most laquer thinner contains no oil, since its used as a base for alot of painting and finishing products. Stuff works great in general for cleaning adhesives and oils ands stuff off metal surfaces, Evaporates very very quickly. Fairly easy to get, most paint stores or hardware stores will carry them. If you can't find them at a standard paint store go to a automotive paint shop or body shop, most of those places will be willing to hook you up. They also carry alot of high percentage of alcohol cleaning compounds or metal cleaners that dont contain oils for paint prep.

 

[wagex]

Laquer thinner works quite well usually, its a mix of acetone and alcohol, Most laquer thinner contains no oil, since its used as a base for alot of painting and finishing products. Stuff works great in general for cleaning adhesives and oils ands stuff off metal surfaces, Evaporates very very quickly. Fairly easy to get, most paint stores or hardware stores will carry them. If you can't find them at a standard paint store go to a automotive paint shop or body shop, most of those places will be willing to hook you up. They also carry alot of high percentage of alcohol cleaning compounds or metal cleaners that dont contain oils for paint prep.

just make sure you dont get it on any of the chip besides the lid, that stuff will eat away anything, its almost as bad as b-12 chemtool lol and if you have sensitive skinn avoid getting it on your hands as it will burn

 

[TsunamiJuan]

Yeah best pratice for most of the more harsh chemicles is a little bit on a paper towl, you dont need much at all. enough that the paper towl is kinda damp not dripping, if its dripping or when you go to press it against something liquid squeezes off you have to much. Wait about 30 seconds or so and test it again, enough should of evaporated off at that point that your good to go. Stuff flashes off fast.

Usually the only time laquer thinner burns is when it reacts to certain jewlery grade metals. But then again I don't have sensitive skin or the people i worked with so hard to say, Aslong as your not immersing yourself in it you should be fine. You need a really small amount for this.

btw it will eat through most Nitrile and latex gloves (with latex it can react and burn you)

 

[SupaMonkey]

@ SupaMonkey

From personal experience with rubbing alcohol...

OEM TIM --> The stuff that comes with the stock heatsinks for the cpu and also on the heatsinks on the motherboards --> This stuff is almost always baked on and will require lots of work to get it completely off the surface, especially the one they use on the Gigabyte motherboards for the northbridge and southbridge chips.

Yes, this is the stuff. With this you are better off using arctic clean or something similar - put it on, leave for 10 mins and then try rubbing it off. It is very hard work if you just use rubbing alcohol.

 

[Janus67]

I've used rubbing alcohol on various chips and never had an issue.

 

[DragoXT]

Sometimes you can go to a pharmacy and ask them to order in for you some 99% isopropyl alcohol. If you are in a pinch for time and are removing the OEM thermal grease just use the 30% rubbing alcohol and a plastic credit card or knife. Wet the TIM and then work the majority of it off with the cc or knife. (DO NOT USE METAL it will scratch). If that stuff is as bad as usual you will need to soak the top of the chip in the alcohol for a bit and let it try to loosen the TIM from the IHS. Find a lid and use a few toothpicks to set the processor on so that the pins are up in the air. Pour the alcohol in the lid till it barely goes over the toothpicks. You want the top of the IHS in the alcohol but not the whole chip submerged in it.

 

[Metlcub]

you could try those first aid alcohol pads that your local pharmacy sells if they dont have rubing alcohol.

 

[hafa]

DO NOT USE ACETONE! It contains oils and other impurities.

Nail polish remover contains oils and other impurities. 100% Acetone, available at most hardware stores worldwide, leaves no residue whatsoever and remains one of the most aggressive and IMHO, the best solvents.

#1 choice for effective TIM removal is Acetone.

 

[grumperfish]

Nail polish remover contains oils and other impurities. 100% Acetone, available at most hardware stores worldwide, leave no residue whatsoever and remains one of the most aggressive and IMHO, the best solvents.

#1 choice for effective TIM removal is Acetone.

I might have to pick some of this up for OEM TIM. That stuff is a nightmare to remove with 91% rubbing alcohol.

 

[hafa]

I might have to pick some of this up for OEM TIM. That stuff is a nightmare to remove with 91% rubbing alcohol.

Yup, Acetone will go through it like a hot knife through soft butter. Just don't spill any on plastic, fiberglass, or resin-coated materials, as it will go through them just as easily.

 

[WhitehawkEQ]

With the stuff I use, I can just use dry Q-Tips to get it off, although alcohol helps it go a bit faster.

 

[Suppressor1137]

I personally use a dry micro-fiber cloth i got free with my monitor. You can wash it in your laundry, and it will not lint up. I don't like touching my cpu with anything outside of the solid phase except gas(which i mean air.)

*deleted the unimportant stuff.*

 

[SupaMonkey]

In my experience, cleaning the chip properly is extremely important. If you are happy to pay $80 on a heatsink then why are you skimping on the cleaner?

 

[eltocliousus]

I ended up using this, got it for £7 from maplins, bit expensive but smells like oranges, nothing better than your CPU smelling like oranges:

Ended up getting some thermal compound onto the motherboard CPU socket pins, cleaned it up though and works fine, made a thread on it a while ago and got positive replies.
Thanks again guys, stopped me from being lazy and making a huge mistake, cheerio.

 

[Mikester70]

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.

 

[stunt]

I been using this for years and it seems to last forever and does a great job.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=46_58&products_id=2759

I also use rifle bore cleaning patches with it. If I run out I use coffee filters. If I run out of those too, it sucks because I can't clean my guns or make coffee.

 

[turbohans]

break cleaner might work, as good types are usually acetone, but do kinda leave residue. I usually just do a dry paper towel wipe though.

 

[hafa]

break cleaner might work, as good types are usually acetone, but do kinda leave residue. I usually just do a dry paper towel wipe though.

Brake cleaner is primarily Dichloromethane, Tetrachloroethylene and Toluene. Not recommended due to toxicity and residue.

I'll reiterate:

• Acetone is the best choice, provided you understand how to properly handle its high flammability.
• Acetone is the most aggressive solvent on the market.
• Acetone leaves no residue whatsoever.
• Acetone evaporates faster than any other commercial solvent.
• Acetone is very inexpensive.
• Acetone is readily available.

NB: Acetone refers to pure Acetone, NOT nail polish remover.

Commercial products such as the one chosen by the OP are also a good choice, offering a safe product with moderate solvent capabilities and minimal residue.

 

[turbohans]

Brake cleaner is primarily Dichloromethane, Tetrachloroethylene and Toluene. Not recommended due to toxicity and residue.

I'll reiterate:

• Acetone is the best choice, provided you understand how to properly handle its high flammability.
• Acetone is the most aggressive solvent on the market.
• Acetone leaves no residue whatsoever.
• Acetone evaporates faster than any other commercial solvent.
• Acetone is very inexpensive.
• Acetone is readily available.

NB: Acetone refers to pure Acetone, NOT nail polish remover.

Commercial products such as the one chosen by the OP are also a good choice, offering a safe product with moderate solvent capabilities and minimal residue.

sorry I mentioned that then.