Cleaning off Thermal Paste

99% Isopropyl alcohol can be purchased at any drugstore.

--
---------------------
DaveW
"32andtwentyseven" <32andtwentyseven RemoveThis @xemaps.com> wrote in message
news:1183801379.585945.96750@g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> Hi
>
> I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
> What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>
> Thanks!
>
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On 7 Jul, 22:03, "DaveW" <noth... DeleteThis @bot.org> wrote:
> 99% Isopropyl alcohol can be purchased at any drugstore.
>
> --

Thanks a lot both of ya.
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On Jul 7, 10:24 pm, John Doe <j....DeleteThis@usenetlove.invalid> wrote:
> 32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyse....DeleteThis@xemaps.com> wrote:
> > Hi
>
> > I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
> > What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>
> > Thanks!
>
> I would use fine or ultra fine sandpaper, lightly after cleaning.

Do not use anything abrasive!! Any scrathes however small will trap
air, that air will heat up and thats when the trouble with cpu heat
begin. The thermal paste fills in any scrathes and material defects so
that there is no trapped air.
-J
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On Jul 7, 10:42 am, 32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyse... DeleteThis @xemaps.com>
wrote:
> Hi
>
> I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
> What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>
> Thanks!

Lucky you're not in the UK. Last time I tried to get IPA(isopropyl
alcohol).. I had to go to the chemist and ask for the chemist.. and
more often than not, the man in the white coat said they didn't stock
it anymore. One tried to sell me something else. Boots chemist had
70% not 99%.

The people that say use IPA also say to use a lint free cloth.
(lint free means something along the lines of it not shredding easily.
If you wipe a wet tissue on your trousers you'd prob see bits of
tissue on there. Not so with a lint free cloth)

Just incase getting the bottle of IPA wasn't hard enough. The bottle
said to avoid contact with hands and use in a well ventilated area.
So I have been known to go outside, and put on the polythene gloves -
also from Boots.

I have also heard that that is all totally unnecessary. And that a
tissue is fine, maybe wet maybe with water. Though no doubt alcohol -
any alcohol - whiskey, vodka, may be more effective in getting off
that paste 'cos it's so greasy. (washing up liquid?!). I guess, at
worst, perhaps your CPU may be a few degrees warmer. This may be an
issue if you have a noise issue and it means your fan spinning up too
loud for your ears. But if that really were an issue, there are
fanless solutions. If you have a big enough case, a fanless heatsink.
Or there are ultra low voltage processors, some P4s, some core duos
and core 2 duos e.t.c. and these produce such a small amount of heat
that they can have little passive(fanless) heatsinks..

Then there's getting the heatsink onto the damn thing. Last time I
did that it involved taking my shirt off and pounding my chest. It's
worth practicing a few times beforehand without putting paste on the
cpu. So you get into the rhythm. I find It's always a different
experience, depending on what screwdriver you're using, how you're
sitting, where the light source is. It's like serving in tennis. You'd
think they wouldn't mess it up.
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyseven.DeleteThis@xemaps.com> wrote:

> Hi
>
> I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
> What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>
> Thanks!
>
>

I would use fine or ultra fine sandpaper, lightly after cleaning.
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

I'm a great love of IPA for cleaning, I got 500ml on e-bay. And I live in
the UK....

<jameshanley39.DeleteThis@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1183858760.388342.5150@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On Jul 7, 10:42 am, 32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyse....DeleteThis@xemaps.com>
> wrote:
>> Hi
>>
>> I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
>> What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>>
>> Thanks!
>
> Lucky you're not in the UK. Last time I tried to get IPA(isopropyl
> alcohol).. I had to go to the chemist and ask for the chemist.. and
> more often than not, the man in the white coat said they didn't stock
> it anymore. One tried to sell me something else. Boots chemist had
> 70% not 99%.
>
> The people that say use IPA also say to use a lint free cloth.
> (lint free means something along the lines of it not shredding easily.
> If you wipe a wet tissue on your trousers you'd prob see bits of
> tissue on there. Not so with a lint free cloth)
>
> Just incase getting the bottle of IPA wasn't hard enough. The bottle
> said to avoid contact with hands and use in a well ventilated area.
> So I have been known to go outside, and put on the polythene gloves -
> also from Boots.
>
> I have also heard that that is all totally unnecessary. And that a
> tissue is fine, maybe wet maybe with water. Though no doubt alcohol -
> any alcohol - whiskey, vodka, may be more effective in getting off
> that paste 'cos it's so greasy. (washing up liquid?!). I guess, at
> worst, perhaps your CPU may be a few degrees warmer. This may be an
> issue if you have a noise issue and it means your fan spinning up too
> loud for your ears. But if that really were an issue, there are
> fanless solutions. If you have a big enough case, a fanless heatsink.
> Or there are ultra low voltage processors, some P4s, some core duos
> and core 2 duos e.t.c. and these produce such a small amount of heat
> that they can have little passive(fanless) heatsinks..
>
> Then there's getting the heatsink onto the damn thing. Last time I
> did that it involved taking my shirt off and pounding my chest. It's
> worth practicing a few times beforehand without putting paste on the
> cpu. So you get into the rhythm. I find It's always a different
> experience, depending on what screwdriver you're using, how you're
> sitting, where the light source is. It's like serving in tennis. You'd
> think they wouldn't mess it up.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On 8 Jul, 09:55, "Dave Cox" <dave....TakeThisOut@tiscalinotospam.co.uk> wrote:
> I'm a great love of IPA for cleaning, I got 500ml on e-bay. And I live in
> the UK....
>

I just did exactly that and bought 500ml of Isopropyl on eBay (UK).
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On Jul 8, 10:02 am, 32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyse... RemoveThis @xemaps.com>
wrote:
> On 8 Jul, 09:55, "Dave Cox" <dave... RemoveThis @tiscalinotospam.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > I'm a great love of IPA for cleaning, I got 500ml on e-bay. And I live in
> first person that > the UK....
>
> I just did exactly that and bought 500ml of Isopropyl on eBay (UK).

You are the first person that I know of to use sandpaper on a cpu. You
may be correct, but sandpaper is generally used for woodworking. Is
your cpu made of oak? Should we be using a belt sander to really get a
nice finish? I will stick to IPA, thank you.
-J
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On Jul 8, 5:24 am, jinxy <willand... DeleteThis @rogers.com> wrote:
> On Jul 7, 10:24 pm, John Doe <j... DeleteThis @usenetlove.invalid> wrote:
>
> > 32andtwentyseven <32andtwentyse... DeleteThis @xemaps.com> wrote:
> > > Hi
>
> > > I read that thermal paste should be cleaned off with some alcohol.
> > > What alcohol should I buy and where can I get it?
>
> > > Thanks!
>
> > I would use fine or ultra fine sandpaper, lightly after cleaning.
>
> Do not use anything abrasive!! Any scrathes however small will trap
> air, that air will heat up and thats when the trouble with cpu heat
> begin. The thermal paste fills in any scrathes and material defects so
> that there is no trapped air.
> -J

what he describes is a fanatical procedure you'll find on google,
called lapping a heatsink. Heatsinks are not smooth to start with,
hence the need for the small amount of paste to fill the already
microscopically small holes - crevices/orifices!.
But one can make them smoother. So the holes are even smaller.. . As
this is improved , the coppor heatsink gets more and more mirror like.
I've never seen it described as a procedure to help get the paste out
though! that's done by IPA. I've never lapped a heatsink before. I
get angry enough just installing it.

the advantage may be a few degrees. i don't know. it'd be interesting
to know the disadvantage of using just using a tissue and maybe some
whiskey.. How many degrees hotter would the cpu be ?

the min requirement is prob to use paste, and a small amount of it.
it'd be good to know the advantages of the rest... Note- te last
time i did it, i used IPA and a lint free cloth. That's the most
normal people do, very few people lap the heatsink.
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

I take my CPUs and heatsinks to NASA and they polish it into a mirror, no
paste needed.

--g
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

On Jul 8, 1:22 pm, John Doe <j....TakeThisOut@usenetlove.invalid> wrote:
> jinxy <willandsue rogers.com> wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > You are the first person that I know of to use sandpaper on a cpu.
>
> Learn something new every day.
>
> > You may be correct, but sandpaper is generally used for woodworking.
>
> Sandpaper is used for wood, metal, and other things. Some sandpaper
> can be used under water.
>
> > Is your cpu made of oak?
>
> Smart ass.
>
> > Should we be using a belt sander to really get a nice finish?
>
> Troll.
>
> > I will stick to IPA, thank you.
>
> Even if someone comes up with a better idea?
>
>
>
> > -J
>
> > Path: newsdbm02.news.prodigy.net!newsdst02.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.com!newscon02­.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.net!news.glorb.com!postnews.google.com!n60g2000hs­e.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
> > From: jinxy <willandsue rogers.com>
> > Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
> > Subject: Re: Cleaning off Thermal Paste
> > Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:15:45 -0700
> > Organization:http://groups.google.com
> > Lines: 15
> > Message-ID: <1183911345.266990.203330 n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com>
> > References: <1183801379.585945.96750 g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> <1183858760.388342.5150 g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> <FD1ki.18273$_l6.6137 newsfe6-win.ntli.net> <1183903377.129574.199030 22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>
> > NNTP-Posting-Host: 74.119.86.232
> > Mime-Version: 1.0
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> > X-Trace: posting.google.com 1183911345 26560 127.0.0.1 (8 Jul 2007 16:15:45 GMT)
> > X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse google.com
> > NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:15:45 +0000 (UTC)
> > In-Reply-To: <1183903377.129574.199030 22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>
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> > Complaints-To: groups-abuse google.com
> > Injection-Info: n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com; posting-host=74.119.86.232; posting-account=Y8nugA0AAACaY3q9ua8T-_swplzKo3h5
> > Xref: prodigy.net alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:492882
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>
> - Show quoted text -

Who said it is a better idea? you? Thanks Albert. You sure have
given yourself the right name. Dead(from the neck up) and unclaimed.
-J
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

jinxy <willandsue rogers.com> wrote:

....

> You are the first person that I know of to use sandpaper on a cpu.

Learn something new every day.

> You may be correct, but sandpaper is generally used for woodworking.

Sandpaper is used for wood, metal, and other things. Some sandpaper
can be used under water.

> Is your cpu made of oak?

Smart ass.

> Should we be using a belt sander to really get a nice finish?

Troll.

> I will stick to IPA, thank you.

Even if someone comes up with a better idea?











> -J
>
>
>
> Path: newsdbm02.news.prodigy.net!newsdst02.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.com!newscon02.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.net!news.glorb.com!postnews.google.com!n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail
> From: jinxy <willandsue rogers.com>
> Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
> Subject: Re: Cleaning off Thermal Paste
> Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:15:45 -0700
> Organization: http://groups.google.com
> Lines: 15
> Message-ID: <1183911345.266990.203330 n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com>
> References: <1183801379.585945.96750 g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> <1183858760.388342.5150 g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com> <FD1ki.18273$_l6.6137 newsfe6-win.ntli.net> <1183903377.129574.199030 22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>
> NNTP-Posting-Host: 74.119.86.232
> Mime-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> X-Trace: posting.google.com 1183911345 26560 127.0.0.1 (8 Jul 2007 16:15:45 GMT)
> X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse google.com
> NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:15:45 +0000 (UTC)
> In-Reply-To: <1183903377.129574.199030 22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>
> User-Agent: G2/1.0
> X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)
> Complaints-To: groups-abuse google.com
> Injection-Info: n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com; posting-host=74.119.86.232; posting-account=Y8nugA0AAACaY3q9ua8T-_swplzKo3h5
> Xref: prodigy.net alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:492882
> X-Received-Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:15:45 EDT (newsdbm02.news.prodigy.net)
>
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste 

jinxy <willandsue DeleteThis @rogers.com> wrote:

....

> Who said it is a better idea? you?

No. I was making light of your close-minded proclamation about using
isopropyl rubbing alcohol. If someone comes up with a better idea (in
your opinion, if that's possible), would you use their idea? Would you
feel the need to proclaim that you aren't going to use isopropyl
rubbing alcohol anymore? As if anyone else cares what you are planning
to use.

> Thanks Albert. You sure have
> given yourself the right name. Dead(from the neck up) and unclaimed.
> -J

That from a shrieking monkey who replied to the wrong author in his
last post.
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning off Thermal Paste