removing thermal paste from a Cpu?

[Accipiter22]

well tomorrow I may be scraping some thermal paste off my cpu/heatside......can I just scrape that junk off if I have to seperate them? (of course I'd reapply some AS5 afterwards)

 

[EatSpam]

I use rubbing alcohol for the most part. If something is really stubborn, nail polish remover works well, then I use the alcohol to finish it off.

 

[V00D00]

You say reapply, so then you must be using Arctic Silver right now then, correct?

If so, then you'll probably have run your computer for a while before you take it off. If you don't, your cpu will probably stick to the heatsink. Well, it will probably stick regardless, but if you've been running it for a while then you will actually be able to peel them apart.

Once you get them apart, it would be best to clean it with isopropyl alcohol.

The real question is what is the reason for doing so? If it's not necessary, you really shouldn't.

 

[Powermoloch]

rubbing alcohol w/ cutips or coffee filter works fine

 

[Accipiter22]

how easy is it to apply As5? Is it a pain in the ass?

 

[zagood]

Hey man...stick with your original thread!

Full instructions here, it's pretty easy. Just make sure you follow them.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Don't use nail polish remover (it's got fragrance added to it).

Get that puppy running!

-z

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: zagood
Don't use nail polish remover (it's got fragrance added to it).

The stuff that is "100% acetone" is good to use (just be careful with it, since it can weaken or damage plastics and some PCBs). Do NOT use 'acetone-free' nail polish remover, or anything that has other crap added to it. That will leave residue that will, at the very least, severely hurt your cooling performance. It will say on the bottle if it has anything else in it.

For thermal paste, though, isopropyl alcohol should work just fine.

 

[drwngflies]

Even if you use Acetone, you still need to clean after that with Rubbing Alcohol, according to Artic's site, so why not just use Alcohol?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: drwngflies
Even if you use Acetone, you still need to clean after that with Rubbing Alcohol, according to Artic's site, so why not just use Alcohol?

There shouldn't be any need to clean it again with alcohol. The whole point of using acetone is that it's nonreactive and it evaporates VERY quickly, leaving no residue.

From the AS instructions:

Clean the mating surfaces completely with ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier or a low residual solvent (High-purity isopropyl alcohol or acetone will work) and a LINT FREE cloth. (i.e. a coffee filter) If another thermal compound has previously been applied to the heatsink, the mounting surfaces should be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned with ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover followed by ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier. If you do not have ArctiClean, a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) acetone, mineral spirits, or 99% pure isopropyl alcohol can be used. It is important to keep the surfaces free of foreign materials and NOT to touch the surfaces (a hair, piece of lint, and even dead skin cells can significantly affect the thermal interfaces performance). In addition, oils from your fingers can adversely affect the performance by preventing the micronized silver fill from directly contacting the metal surface. (Fingerprints can be as thick as 0.005")

I don't see anything about using both acetone and isopropyl alcohol; it says to use either.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: Powermoloch
rubbing alcohol w/ cutips or coffee filter works fine

Or those of us lucky enough to work in a hospital(like me) I can get pre soaked alcohol pads and swabs, they are wonderful for cleaning all sorts of computer parts

I'd say use alcohol too it's less irritating to your skin and less harmful to breath in a confined space.

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: zagood
Hey man...stick with your original thread!

Full instructions here, it's pretty easy. Just make sure you follow them.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Don't use nail polish remover (it's got fragrance added to it).

Get that puppy running!

-z

I respectfully disagree. I've found acetone (nail polish remover) to be a much better solvent than isopropyl alcohol for thermal compound. It's easy to find it without fragrance or dyes added. I thoroughly agree with EatSpam who mentioned using isopropyl alcohol to "finish up," because I think that the acetone can leave a slight film that the alcohol removes. So, the easiest, fastest, and best way is to get the bulk of the product off with acetone and then to give the surfaces a final cleaning with alcohol. (Again, it's easy to find "pure" 90% isopropyl alcohol.)

The same thing can be accomplished by purchasing Arctic Silvers compound-removal kit, but it will end up costing ten times more than acetone/alcohol, and I don't think it works any better at all.

Ron

 

[zagood]

I pretty much try to avoid all potential problems, so I stay away from stuff like nail polish remover...that, and my wife would steal it. She never touches my 99% alcohol...but she does get into my 99 proof...

That, and my experiences with acetone are from surfboard repair when I was younger. Granted, I used a much higher concentration than is in nail polish remover, but that stuff could eat through anything. If you use straight acetone don't get it on the pcb.

Also I hate doing things in 2 steps. AS5 and Ceramique both come off really easily with 99% alcohol, so never bothered trying anything else.

-z

 

[lozina]

Is paint thinner OK? I have no rubbing alcohol... I have plenty of paint thinner though... Mineral Spirits brand

 

[Farmer]

If you have like 70% EtOH, it evaporates a bit cleaner than rubbing alcohol.

 

[SnoMunke]

Artic Silver makes some thermal paste remover and surface purifier. I use it and it works great! Using rubbing alcohol off the shelf (70%) is bad...it will leave alot of impurities on the surface that will degrade performance significantly. I.T. industrial grade alchohol works ok (above 90% pure). Acetone is not that good to use either since it does weaken plastic surfaces, PCBs, etc...