Cleaning thermal grease off of a cpu...

[Nait Sirhc]

I've got a CPU I need to apply thermal grease to, but I have to clean the old gunk off first. I'm stuck at work, so I have to use what we've got around here.

The first aid kit has antiseptic towelettes and I've got a few wetwipes from the local restaraunt.

The antiseptic towelettes have benzalkonium chloride, and I'm not sure what the wetwipes have. Will either of these work in a pinch, and if not, is there anything else around here that I could use? I don't think there's rubbing alcohol anywhere around, or I'd just use that.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Wait until you have the proper materials

 

[Insomniak]

isopropyl alcohol and a cotton cloth, preferably.

 

[bluestrobe]

use a soft cloth or q-tip and 91% Alcohol. Don't guess on chemicals as some will leave a residue which will counteract thermal paste.

 

[Mem]

I use Akasa TIM cleaning fluid,link.

 

[Coquito]

91% alcohol & a lint free cloth(like what you use for glasses) are what I use.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

soft tissue or a very slightly damp cloth

this was when i messed up installing my 7000Cu, so it was still wet and i jus wiped it off.

with a MSI motherboard i had, the north bridge fan gave in so i bought a zalman fanless cooler to replace it. i took the old sink off and the goop that was on it came clean off with the heatsink so didnt have to wipe the northbridge too much. tissue paper basically cleaned the heatsink back to new.

never had to remove any dried on stuff though

 

[daniel49]

I bought a bottle of Iso alcohol 99% years ago and keep it for just that kinda thing. think it cost me all of a dollar something??
One can always try new things if one wants to gamble.
let us know how it turns out.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: bluestrobe
use a soft cloth or q-tip and 91% Alcohol. Don't guess on chemicals as some will leave a residue which will counteract thermal paste.

There ya go, that should be all you need. Even 70% should work fine, but I prefer the stronger stuff for PCs.

 

[bluestrobe]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: bluestrobe
use a soft cloth or q-tip and 91% Alcohol. Don't guess on chemicals as some will leave a residue which will counteract thermal paste.

There ya go, that should be all you need. Even 70% should work fine, but I prefer the stronger stuff for PCs.

70% is good but the greater water content makes it dry slower. Both would work though as I have used both

 

[Zepper]

Depends on what the material is. If it's a typical silicone-based grease then alcohol will work fine but you don't want any additives in your alcohol. If nothing else is handy, a high-proof rum or vodka would do. One of the females there may carry Acetone based nail polish remover that will also work well. Read the added ingredients to make sure there are no oils
. If it's a thermal pad, I find that Zippo type lighter fluid works best followed by an alcohol rinse.
. Coffee filters work well for wiping etc. as they are lint free.
.bh.

 

[imported_2x]

50 grit sandpaper just kidding - 70%isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs work for me.

 

[bluestrobe]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Depends on what the material is. If it's a typical silicone-based grease then alcohol will work fine but you don't want any additives in your alcohol. If nothing else is handy, a high-proof rum or vodka would do. One of the females there may carry Acetone based nail polish remover that will also work well. Read the added ingredients to make sure there are no oils
. If it's a thermal pad, I find that Zippo type lighter fluid works best followed by an alcohol rinse.
. Coffee filters work well for wiping etc. as they are lint free.
.bh.

Acetone never worked for me and just made things more of a mess.