Cleaning thermal paste off cpu

[negseven]

just breaking down an old rig and have got the cpu out with old thermal paste on cpu.
How do I safely clean off old paste from top of cpu?

 

[Firegod]

Akasa Tim cleaner.

 

[Zefan]

Any old enemy-of-the-sticky will do in my experience. I have and use:
- sticky stuff remover
- akasa tim clean (this is just branded sticky stuff remover as far as I'm concerned)
- a little sprinkling of IPA to finish; I find the other stuff leaves a residue. While I'm not sure if it matters, I like IPA.

 

[tamzzy]

good ole bog roll will be fine, no need to spend any money on TIM cleaner

if you're desperate then 99.9% isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) would be fine too

 

[uscool]

Few Cotton buds dipped in 99.9% IPA

 

[Cob]

Yip bog roll and a final polish with some IPA.

 

[Nickolp1974]

Kitchen roll preferred over bog roll as mentioned and some alcohol, or nail polish remover but no additives

 

[IPBA]

Akasa TIM cleaner. Purchased a bottle years ago and it is still going strong.

 

[joey1211]

India Pale Ale

 

[Doop!]

nail varnish remover if you don't have any of the other stuff to hand

 

[freddie64]

Just use bog roll to clean it the best you can. If you are selling it, tell the buyer it needs cleaning properly.

 

[ED209]

I just use kitchen roll to clean mine off, always comes off without an issue

 

[dave28]

Never ever had a problem using kitchen roll and cotton buds without any chemicals or liquids at all

But I use thermal paste that is easy to clean, I think MX 4 from memory. It cleans off very easily.

 

[SheepBeast]

Kitchen roll to wipe the bulk off, cotton buds + isopropyl alcohol to get the remainder, then another wipe with kitchen roll. Maybe repeat the last two steps again if you want it to be perfectly clean (e.g. if reselling)

 

[Philtor]

Have always used IPA. Handy to have a bottle as it can be used for cleaning various other things too.

 

[Vakas]

Akasa Tim cleaner.

Used this for years works great

 

[robinbanks]

Few Cotton buds dipped in 99.9% IPA also for me.

 

[ATIorNvidia]

99.9% IPA, also useful if you get thermal paste on pins, or for other general cleaning of electronics

 

[clone]

Few Cotton buds dipped in 99.9% IPA

This is what I do.

 

[mattyfez]

IPA is ideal.. But any decent solvent will do, I've even used meths and white spirit in the past.
Tecnically it can leave a greasy residue but I don't find it really matters if you give it a wipe with some kitchen roll after... Especially on older systems that you're not too bothered about getting the absolute best case scenario.

If if the existing paste wipes of pretty cleanly sometimes I don't even use a solvent.. I just wipe it clean and dump some more paste on it.