What's the best way to remove thermal paste from CPU/heatsink?

[MigraineMan]

I've recently used both the zinc and silver based compounds. Damnable stuff. What's the best way to remove this stuff from a CPU or heat sink? I get it clean eventually, but there are always traces of the stuff stuck in the nooks and crannies...

Dumb question, perhaps, but haven't seen this information posted anywhere yet and I'm a thermal goop newbie.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

you can try goo-gone or butane, but i doubt the stuff filling the cracks will come out unless you lap the heastink.


Mike

 

[AmazonRasta]

Rubbing alcohol worked great for me (then again, I was using silicon based thermal paste, so I don't know if this will work for the silver/zinc stuff). Afterwards, lap the heatsink with 600 grit or finer sand paper. That'll smoothen it all out and get out what you've missed.

 

[ZeroBurn]

best stuff i've seen to clean off a CPU would be alcohol, nail polish remover, WD40, and lighter fluid. the stuff you put on a CPU will _always_ been in the micron cracks inside the CPU though, unless you decide to lap off the top of the CPU. i'd start at 800grit and go as high as 1200 or 1500, however i've never had the guts to kill my warranty on the cpu by lapping it, just my alpha HSFs

 

[MigraineMan]

Thanks for the feedback! I hesitated using a petroleum based product, since I always felt they left residues. Rubbing alcohol doesn't work well on the zinc based stuff. I'll try the nail polish remover. Since I'm looking to start over with a fresh paste, I don't think I need to worry about getting it all out of the areas where it has no real effect on heat transfer.

Esthetically, I'd like the CPU perfectly clean, but technically, I think even the unavoidable mixing of very, very slight residual pastes with other pastes shouldn't have much of an impact on heat conduction, and the area where the CPU makes contact with the heatsink is a small area that can be cleaned quite well, IMO...

 

[Mikewarrior2]

of the two surfaces, you are fairly correct. Leftover grease on hte CPU is less "harmful" to performance than leftover grease on the heatsink.

For example, i've tested a heatsink with no grease, then used artic silver and wiped it off(just straihgt on hte heatsink, no application to cpu).

a whopping 8C drop from no grease to heatsink "wiped" with arctic silver.



Mike

 

[MigraineMan]

Wiped completely off, just leaving whatever residue is left behind (which can still be notable)? Now that's cool. They always tell you the thinner the better, but it always seems that the heatsink is so tight on the CPU that the paste thins itself when applied. You getting better results with leaving just a "smudge" of paste?

 

[Bartman39]

There is a cleaner made by CRC called (Contact cleaner) that is for very delicate electrical contacts & componets... It works extremely well, I have cleaned my 1Ghz Tbird a few times with it and had no problems what so ever... It will take Artic Silver off with ease as well as silicon based "white paste" and one can will last a long time... It can be found at any electrical supply house and most hardware stores...


Just to note... I used this stuff and a tooth brush to clean the after effects of a peltier/Celeron-1 condensation disaster (corrosion on the pin side and real bad). After the cleaning job the cpu worked perfect!

 

[Turbopit]

I usually have 3 or 4 cans of CRC's contact cleaner out in the garage. Works great, dries instantly.