How to clean thermal compound

[canadian_divx]

Just woundering if using paint thinner on an AMD CPU to clean it off isbad because a coworker is using it and i am unsure. can someone tell me if this is bad or not?

 

[Shamus MacNoob]

If all your talking about is a small dab on a rag then rubbing it off I don't see why that would matter, I have used a very small amount of lighter fulid on a q-tip and that works as well.

 

[Sazar]

I just get dab some water and than use a paper towel to wipe it off

works effectively...

I also have a hard/nylon scrubber that I place on top of the paper towel and use that to scrape maximum residue off... works like a charm

 

[Tweakfiend]

Isopropyl alcohol is pretty good ..... used as general CD/DVD/tape /screen cleaner.

 

[LeeJend]

Use isopropyl alcohol and a Qtip.

NEVER use tap water on electrical equipment of any type. It is full of minerals, chlorine and ammonia compounds that can leave semconductive deposits creating problems and creating corrosive deposits.

 

[TheBlueRaja]

I just get dab some water and than use a paper towel to wipe it off

 

[jdn]

I would not use paint thinner as it will leave a residue that could interfere with the new application of thermal paste.
If you have old thermal paste or, worse, one of the thick pads use a razor blade to remove most of the goop. Then use lacquer thinner,or one of its ingredients acetone or toulene, to remove the rest of the residue. You can get
these products in pint or liter tins at the paint store.
Once this is done start the procedure as outlined on the thermal paste web site.
p.s. the tabs on a razor blade do an excellent job of "lapping" the thermal paste
Hope this helps

 

[Black-Syth]

I, personally, use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol that's 85% to clean my cpu. I don't have to be extra careful because if I get it wet a bit, it'll just evaporate.