Thermal paste removal

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:24 am

I am putting Zalman NB47J sinks on my N and SB's, this was stuck to the NB, what is it and how do I remove it before applying the Arctic Silver 5?

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:30 am

You can order ArtiClean thermal paste removal material from computer shop or then you could go local pharmacy and buy some Isopropyl alcohol.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:31 am

Cool, thank you very much. Can I use acetone? I have some of that. Will metho work?

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:34 am

as long its pure, acetone will do ok. Avoid nailpolishers due they have some oils, parfumes etc which are not good for your heatsink's thermal properties.

Edit: to make sure you get best result whipe the chip two times and make sure the acetone / ispropyl alcohol or what ever has come off the surface, so surface is dry before applying paste. With alcohol it takes 3 to 10 seconds to alcohol dry off the surface. Depending on amount etc applied.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:37 am

OK thanks, I will go to the shed and get the acetone, it is pure. I will use cotton buds (cue tips or ear cleaning sticks) soaked in acetone to clean it off.
Thanks for the help!

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:50 am

I just carefully scratched it all off with my fingernail, hope that's ok! It seems fine, now just have to clean it a bit with the acetone.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:52 am

I've been using an isobutanol cleaning spray(Kontakt WL). It's very good for cleaning paste, but not so good when it comes to removing thermal stickers or glue. It's originally intended for removing sulfuric or oxidized residue. I usually work with a sharp knife, a lint-free cloth and the isobutanol spray. It vapourizes almost instantly.

Is isopropyl alcohol good for removing thermal stickers and pads?

Edit 1: Don't see why a fingernail wouldn't work, main thing is to get all residual paste or pad material and dirt off the chip. A nail's probably less risk-prone than my knife method anyway.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:08 am

Seems to have worked ok. The stuff was like dried clay. The South Bridge had more like a mat or pad under it.

Really only looks like it has tiny bits of dust on it now. I wiped it with a lint free cloth.

There are a couple marks that won't go away just to the right of the "LE" and on the left too, but I don't think they will matter.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:10 am

How should I apply the Arctic silver 5? I heard ti wipe a bit on, then off, with a business card, or just a tiny dot in the middle and let it spread itself?

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:19 am

I use a voided credit card, nice smooth edge and good grip. I work from corner to corner diagonally(X-style wipes), using lines rather than drops. An even spread is more important than smoothness, the heatsink will flatten it out. The paste will take care of the scratches and dents. I use a layer just thick enough to cover the markings on a chip.

A southbridge gets less hot than a northbridge, so it can make do with a pad. The northbridge usually features a phase sticker(melts and solidifies by temperature) that resembles dried clay when it's at room temperatures.

Hope all goes well!

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:29 am

OK thats what I will do. I am just trying to see if the Zalman NB47J will be in the way of the ultra 120 extreme that I have coming. I could wait until it arrives and check. If the NB47J is in the way I will just cut some fins, but want to do that away from the MB, before I install it. But I want to install it now!

Just searching for the height from the CPU of the 120 extreme.

South bridge will be fine, have to rotate it a bit to clear the spot where a 2nd vid card would go but thats ok.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:40 am

@ stevenkelby:
lol, you don't need to cut any fins to make that Zalman NB sink to fit. You just can easily bend the small wings so Thermy's cooler will fit. Trust me, its way easier just to bend them.

@Das_Saunamies:
Isporopyl will not work that well against thermal stickers and similar that harden a lot. I Finad ArctiClean much better suited for that. I usually scrap thermal pads off with isopropyl soaked cotton stick, if I don't have ArctiClean. It will take time though with just isopropyl alcohol.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:42 am

thejamppa wrote:@ stevenkelby:
lol, you don't need to cut any fins to make that Zalman NB sink to fit. You just can easily bend the small wings so Thermy's cooler will fit. Trust me, its way easier just to bend them.

Ha Ha, thats so obvious now you mention it! I accidentally bent a fin or 2 the other day and bent it back but never thought to do it on purpose!

Thanks,

I will install them now.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:46 am

Good luck, I hope everything goes fine. I keep my fingers crossed just in case ^^

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:45 am

I really don't like to use acetone on electronic components as it will dissolve an polycarbonate or epoxy coatings applied to the area if you spill it.

IPA (isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol) work well for these types of removals particularly if it's a typical nonpolar adhesive. If it were polar, then methanol would work just fine.

Make sure you get 91% or greater IPA and nothing added to it (some have perfume added to it).

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:46 am

jhhoffma wrote:I really don't like to use acetone on electronic components as it will dissolve an polycarbonate or epoxy coatings applied to the area if you spill it.

Acetone sounds too violent, I'll look for some of that ArctiClean stuff, thanks for the tip.

Olotila · Post by **Olotila** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:29 pm

If I have recently bought opteron 180 and got it up and running. Now I consider better heatsink for it.

I successfully (with mild violence) got rid of the plastic and fan of the boxed cooler and attached a low noise fan instead.

Now - back to the topic - can I just put new heatsink on top of cpu because the (the boxed) paste is quite new? Been only about for a week now. That would save me the pain and hassle of removing the old paste.

And would you recommend Scythe Ninja Plus SCNJ-1100P rev. B for low noise cooling? Mobo is asus a8n-sli deluxe.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:19 pm

Scythe Ninja rev be would be ideal low noise cooler for AMD processors. And I do not recommend you to put new heatsink on old paste. Its better to get rid of all old stuff and apply new, due old stuff has already started to mature.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:21 pm

You can reuse thermal paste if there's enough of it left, but stickers and such you'd best remove. Usually there's too little paste left for proper contact and the stuff will be lower grade than Arctic products.

Recommend always removing previous contact materials, cleaning both chip and cooler base and installing with fresh paste.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:47 pm

jhhoffma wrote:I really don't like to use acetone on electronic components as it will dissolve an polycarbonate or epoxy coatings applied to the area if you spill it.

IPA (isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol) work well for these types of removals particularly if it's a typical nonpolar adhesive. If it were polar, then methanol would work just fine.

Make sure you get 91% or greater IPA and nothing added to it (some have perfume added to it).

I concur regarding the isopropyl alcohol. a 99% pure bottle is still pretty cheap when you can find it and it cleans anything off well.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:32 pm

acetone will disolve.... everything... plastics... whatever... not a good substance to recommend.

isopropyl alcohol is a classic, safe one.

I use now ArctiClean system. It REALLY gets the stuff off to a superb shine. It goes a long way too. lasts years.

Michael Sandstrom · Post by **Michael Sandstrom** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:59 am

One big advantage of ArctiClean is that it is non toxic so you don't have to worry about fumes.

Olotila · Post by **Olotila** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:17 am

I just scraped the old paste away with plastic library card (kiitos vinkistÃ¤ Das_Saunamies!) and wiped the rest with a fine cloth.

My max temp dropped by 14 degrees (68 -> 54), so I guess it works fine

RaptorZX3 · Post by **RaptorZX3** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:23 am

for my CPU and North Bridge, i cleaned both of them with isopropyl alcohol (the 50% kind, not the 70%), and q-tips (a lot of them, lol!) making sure it was clean.

then i used the Zalman ZM-STG1 Thermal Grease, it's cool cos it's not thick and you can spread it evenly with the included brush in the cap of the bottle.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:46 am

I used the acetone and it worked great, I was very careful and used q-tips then a lint free cloth. Seemed to work great but who knows if there is something left behind.

I bought some 99.5% Isopropyl alcohol today from a chemist, $5 for 100ml. I think that my NB Zalman NB47J heatsink will be in the way of the ultra 120 extreme thouigh, when I get it. I also put a thin layer of arctic 5 on the sink and on the chip. I think I was only supposed to put it on the chip.

So I just ordered some Arcticlean thanks to you guys, will re-do the NB as I will have to remove it anyway to bend a few fins down.

When the ultra 120 extreme arrives Monday I will lap it, thanks to the guides linked somewhere here, and use the arcticlean there too, even though it and the CPU are new. I won't clean the CPU of course, it's still wrapped up.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:58 am

"EipÃ¤ mitiÃ¤", rigid plastic cards are the best. The newer the better, as the edges will be sharper. Swapping chipset heatsinks is almost mandatory now, the quality of the factory heatsinks and their installation is just appaling. The chips can take a good deal of thermal abuse though, although I'm not sure if that bodes well for component life.

You should only apply the paste on one surface, preferrably the chip: this ensures you can observe the quantity better and it won't spill or drip onto non-contact surfaces.

I recommend cleaning chips and heatsinks regardless of packing status. It's not like they're oiled, but there is occasional residue here and there. It's not a big task and guarantees peace of mind.

stevenkelby · Post by **stevenkelby** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:36 am

OK I will clean the proccessor too

Thanks for the advice.

How do you get the right thickness of paste? Can you just smear some on, then scrape it off with a new card? I plan to get the Heatsink base smooth like glass with ever finer wet and dry on a piece of glass. Is it a good idea to polish the heatsink base with autosol to a mirror?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:52 am

I've used various solvents for a long time.....and I can say this. Alcohol-type solvents don't work on a long list of stuff that needs to be cleaned. You end up just using the friction of the wipe-rag, not the alcohol. I've settled on a product called "ACRA-SOLV". It's an automotive product used for various cleaning jobs. It can be used to remove glue, tar, grease, practically anything sticky including every thermal compound I've seen.

It is safe on paint, fabric, you name it. Alcohol should be used in drinks.....not in your computer.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:17 am

I bet ArctiClean is just as good though, and purpose-made.

Is this ACRA-SOLV toxic, and what's the main active ingredient? It's a pretty good indication of compatibility if it's safe to use on even old paints and not just the modern epoxy/compound paints.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:53 am

I mis-spelled it....it's ACRY-SOLV. And of course it's toxic if inhaled, or drank. But it works.....gets surfaces clean enough for paint to stick. The one quart size will last you forever.

Ingredients...bad stuff.

Naphtha
Xylene
Ethyl Benzene
Toluene

The main thing here.....you only need a small amount, with little pressure, and with little/no worry about harming other components you might touch. And when you're done cleaning heatsinks/CPUs......take some out to your car and clean the spots on your seat-covers. It works.