Hello,
I need to reinstall my h100i gtx and that means replacing the thermal paste, I don't have any isopropyl alcohol on hand which I read is good for cleaning CPUs, would just wiping the paste off which paper towel until both surfaces are clean work as I am not doing any crazy over locking.
coffee filters are best if you have any
I wouldn't use something like paper towel that may leave something behind. A good cotton cloth made of an old shirt (for example) will work really good.
So if I use cloth like this, I won't need to use alcohol
No, you don't but you'll need some helbow grease and to wipe it until the cloth stays clean. I did that because I couldn't get my hands on isopropyl alchool where I live and worked great. Also over time your CPU heatspreader will get shinier over time.
Would a j cloth work well?
Maybe it's a bit too rough and hard. You can give it a try but I've never did so I don't know.
Acetone works fine too, you should be able to get it at any hardware store. Chemists often have isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol as it's often called. Try to get something with a high concentration, I have a bunch of isopropyl wipes which are 70% which work fine, but the 99% stuff will dry off almost instantly which makes it easier to apply fresh paste.
I'll admit I was in a pinch at one stage and used methylated spirits on a microfiber cloth.
Didn't have any issues and thermals are all good, but ideally as suggested above - isopropyl and coffee filters work the best.
I've used eucalyptus oil before. If it's good enough for use as a disinfectant, should be good enough to clean thermal paste.
Rubbing alcohol, hell even strong drinks like whiskey will do.
People make way too much hassle around cleaning thermal paste, its not rocket science.
This seems like much ado about nothing imo... rubbing alcohol, strong drinks, etc. along w/ a coffee filter or another material that won't leave any residue. (srsly u don't have rubbing alcohol?).
99% isopropyl is like $1. just get it, jeeze