How to remove Thermal Paste

Hardware Other Hardware
1

I honestly don't know where to put this post so sorry if I post it at the wrong place.

Anyhow, Does anyone know how to remove Thermal Paste from my Heatsink.

I just bought the Kraken X60 for my new AMD build, and when I open it, it has thermal paste on the heatsink, so I was wondering, what is the best way to remove it so I can apply the thermal paste I bought. I read that Lint Free Cloth and Isopropyl Alcohol works to remove Thermal Paste. So I was wondering if it's true, and if so, how much percentage does Isopropyl Alcohol need to have.

 

So far from what I was planning to buy to remove it were this cloth 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Libman-Microfiber-Cleaning-Cloth-Set-of-4/16662041

 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Libman-Windex-Microfiber-Cloth/17202439

 

And I don't know which of these Isopropyl Alcohol I should buy.

http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=isopropyl%20alcohol

So I really don't know if these are the right items to remove thermal paste.

Also, Thank You if you do help me out on this.

 

2

I would get the 91% alcohol, but 70% would work fine too, you've got everything you need to remove thermal paste with no residue and no fibers or anything like that so you should be absolutely fine!

3

yes it is, prferably a micro fibre cloth, and 80% is an ideal minimum

4

I use coffee filters and time.  Removing thermal paste is pretty messy. So find a table, lay down some newspaper, get a stack of coffee filters and an old crdit card or some cardboard from a cereal box and yeah, alcohol works pretty good. I use 99%, you may have to ask the pharmacist for it they often keep it behind the counter. Wrap the credit card in a few layers of coffee filter so you have a good stiff scraper that won't scratch, dip it in some alcohol and go to town.  

5

I've always used denatured alcohol and coffee filters.

6

If nothing else, this thread stands to say "Everyone has a different way, and you should really find a method that works for you.".


Try a couple things, see what you like, as long as you're careful, you should be fine. 

7

But does it matter if it's for First Aid, I mean that is the one thing I'm a bit cautious, since I don't wanna end up wasting my money on the wrong item

8

I use an old plastic card (credit, ID, whatever) to scrape it off, paper towels and water to wipe up most of it, then a standard pre-wet lens cleaning wipe for your glasses. Those things are actually paper, so they leave behind no fibers, and they only have degreasers and alcohol, all of which are designed to evaporate within 30 seconds. Works great, costs whatever a lens wipe costs. Alternately, coffee filters and 70-91% isopropyl alcohol works amazingly well (Pro tip: you can use denatured alcohol to get rid of absolutely every trace of grease on the metal surface, but it wreaks havoc on your skin, wear two layers of gloves. Isopropyl alcohol is some relatively tame stuff, but denatured alcohol of sufficient concentration can actually seep through the material of some gloves, so wear two layers of nitrile gloves, just to be sure.)