Thermal Paste Cleaning.

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bigdave00

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#1 bigdave00
Member since 2005 • 1503 Posts

People suggest using rubbing alcohol. What do you use and suggest?

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MAILER_DAEMON

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#2 MAILER_DAEMON
Member since 2003 • 45906 Posts
Rubbing alcohol.
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Duckman5

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#3 Duckman5
Member since 2006 • 18934 Posts
Lol there is a reason everyone is recommending you use it...
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#4 Filipino_Rambo
Member since 2009 • 259 Posts

I use methylated spirits it gets the job done.

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Xsan3

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#5 Xsan3
Member since 2009 • 2618 Posts

Only reason I use rubbing alcohol - is because others suggested it. So when I tried it, seemed to work fine with removing it.

Since I don't strip off Thermal Pasted taht often, I don't really take extra time to experiment with other solutions.

Too, the initial scraping - comes from carfully using the flat end of a Screw driver to peel off the thick layer and then getting off the rest with the Alcohol.

Lastly, since I work ina hospital - I prefer to use Alcohol Pads . . . Easier that way.

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bigdave00

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#6 bigdave00
Member since 2005 • 1503 Posts
Well I was curious because I have a solution which is 95% industrial methylated spirit, 2.5%virgin castor oil, 0.5% methyl salicylate, 2%diethyl phthalate. Will that do?
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polarwrath11

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#7 polarwrath11
Member since 2006 • 1676 Posts
Well I was curious because I have a solution which is 95% industrial methylated spirit, 2.5%virgin castor oil, 0.5% methyl salicylate, 2%diethyl phthalate. Will that do?bigdave00
Nope it has to be 0.62% methyl salicylate. Sorry. Lol honestly I don't know. But I was wondering about the same thing, because I didn't use any spirits, just damp tissue, to clean off the thermal paste, before putting in my new arctic freezer 7 cooler with pre applied thermal paste, but my temps have gone up so either i shouldn't have just used a damp cloth, the cooler wasn''t seated properly, or the pre applied was too excessive.
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MaoTheChimp

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#8 MaoTheChimp
Member since 2008 • 1727 Posts

Well I was curious because I have a solution which is 95% industrial methylated spirit, 2.5%virgin castor oil, 0.5% methyl salicylate, 2%diethyl phthalate. Will that do?bigdave00

The castor oil makes me worry a bit, as it may leave some residue which could potentially hurt the thermal contact.

W/E. The only way is to find out is by trying. In the worst case scenario it'll shut down due to overheating, but it wont cause any damage.

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Luminouslight

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#9 Luminouslight
Member since 2007 • 6397 Posts
You want to leave as minimal residue on the CPU heatsink as possible; alcohol, being fairly volatile, will evaporate rather quickly. The purer, the better.
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KLONE360

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#10 KLONE360
Member since 2007 • 1119 Posts

Your supposed to use isopropyl alcohol.

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Sparticus247

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#11 Sparticus247
Member since 2005 • 2368 Posts

Your supposed to use isopropyl alcohol.

KLONE360

This.

I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol for my CPU cleaning, stuff is strong! It evaporates quickly too, I just use that and some Q-tips.

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polarwrath11

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#12 polarwrath11
Member since 2006 • 1676 Posts

[QUOTE="KLONE360"]

Your supposed to use isopropyl alcohol.

Sparticus247

This.

I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol for my CPU cleaning, stuff is strong! It evaporates quickly too, I just use that and some Q-tips.

What about all the debris from the dried up old thermal paste that goes everywhere. How do you deal with that? Also, what cloth do you apply the isopropyl alcohol to?
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Sparticus247

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#13 Sparticus247
Member since 2005 • 2368 Posts

[QUOTE="Sparticus247"]

[QUOTE="KLONE360"]

Your supposed to use isopropyl alcohol.

polarwrath11

This.

I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol for my CPU cleaning, stuff is strong! It evaporates quickly too, I just use that and some Q-tips.

What about all the debris from the dried up old thermal paste that goes everywhere. How do you deal with that? Also, what cloth do you apply the isopropyl alcohol to?

I just use Q-tips and make it damp, the alcohol liquifies the old paste again and it gets absorbed into the q-tip. I usually go through like 10 of them but it gets it clean.

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bigdave00

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#14 bigdave00
Member since 2005 • 1503 Posts
Ummm, thinking that stuff will be ok... Just have to make sure I wont leave any on the cpu.
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cornholio157

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#15 cornholio157
Member since 2005 • 4603 Posts

ive used mineral spirits in the past, same thing as paint thiner which is alcohol.

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expanded

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#16 expanded
Member since 2003 • 8430 Posts
one day when I do thermal paste cleaning.. (can someone explain why i'd do this, besides changing paste? D: curious..) I'm going to try milk or apple juice.
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Sparticus247

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#17 Sparticus247
Member since 2005 • 2368 Posts

one day when I do thermal paste cleaning.. (can someone explain why i'd do this, besides changing paste? D: curious..) I'm going to try milk or apple juice.expanded

You could also tr sticking the whole CPU in a watermelon :D. But seriously though, one of the main reasons would be buying another CPU cooler. There are some nice ones out there that perform better than the stock coolers. If you invest in one of those then you need to clean off the old stuff.

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theragu40

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#18 theragu40
Member since 2005 • 3332 Posts
I would really not recommend using something with oil in it. You are not going to be able to get that residue off completely, and that is going to screw with your temps.
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mike4realz

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#19 mike4realz
Member since 2003 • 2577 Posts
pure acetone
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CStheGreat

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#20 CStheGreat
Member since 2008 • 705 Posts

Use >70% Iso-alcohol with coffee filter paper to remove thermal paste. The coffee filter paper does not leave any paper "fibers" and the alcohol will evaporate very quickly.

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X360PS3AMD05

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#21 X360PS3AMD05
Member since 2005 • 36320 Posts
The Arctic silver kit from newegg that's like $5.
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Gamerz1569

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#22 Gamerz1569
Member since 2008 • 2087 Posts

Use liquid nitrogen condensed and distilled from unobtanium ore...

Seriously though just use rubbing alcohol (use 70% solution to be safe). Or you could use acetone it works just fine.

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bigdave00

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#23 bigdave00
Member since 2005 • 1503 Posts
Lol well checked in the garage... I have a choice: White spirit, Mineralised methylated spirit (purple stuff) and the other one...
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#24 superclocked
Member since 2009 • 5864 Posts
Isopropyl alcohol dries almost immediately, and doesn't leave any residue. If you don't have any acetone, it's the next best thing...
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theragu40

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#25 theragu40
Member since 2005 • 3332 Posts
[QUOTE="bigdave00"]Lol well checked in the garage... I have a choice: White spirit, Mineralised methylated spirit (purple stuff) and the other one...

Seriously, isopropyl alcohol is $1.00 for a bottle at the store. Don't risk damage to your components because of something that costs only a dollar.
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killerbasa

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#26 killerbasa
Member since 2005 • 860 Posts
I use 91% isopropyl alcohol. Cleans so well for many things. I don't know about the castor oil, I also think it will leave a harmful residue. Just experiment tho.
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bigdave00

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#27 bigdave00
Member since 2005 • 1503 Posts
Yeah i got some TIM Clean from shops down the road now lol. Hopefully that will do.
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#28 quietguy
Member since 2003 • 1218 Posts

This.