Removing thermal compund from cpu

[Beowulf]

I just recently cleaned my tbird to put some artic silver on it I was just wondering if I did it the right way.I used a qtip soaked alittle portion of it in nail polish remover and cleaned the core.I was wondering it thats a good way of doing it since I really havent heard how others clean it themselves.

 

[Duvie]

Yes, acetone works!!! Also the q-tip was also great...any cotton will minimize the scratching of the surface of the core...

 

[rondeemc]

I had to remove the artic silver off of my core when it turned out the HSF would not fit on my motherboard. I used isopropyl alcohol and lots of qtips successfully.

 

[Azratax]

I used acetone for some caked on crud that came with the cpu (lol - the ppl at the comp store tested it for us and did a really sloppy application of white crap), and after that i used isopropal alchohol to clean it (the rubbing alchohol didnt phase the dried up zinc oxide paste). However, i would NOT use nailpolish remover, even the "good stuff" that has real acetone in it (some have some eco-friendly stuff... total crap), because nailpolish remover has crud in it that will be left on the cpu after the acetone evaporates (Pure acetone is totaly clear and doesnt have any perfume added). I recomend real acetone if you need somethign that strong. $5 or less at home depot for more than you will ever use. I used cotton balls to wipe off the thermal paste.
-Az

 

[Beowulf]

Well I cleaned it off with nail polisher.Now I have anti static isopropal alchohol wipes I can use to clean the crud left behind.Also the wipes list isopropal alchohol and water as the contents is that safe.