Best methods for cleaning thermal grease?

D

Dalrain

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 6, 2003
Messages
311
Hello all,
I built my fiancee a fairly nice Athlon XP machine some time ago, based on the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe motherboard. Unfortunately, it's been hard rebooting on it's own as of late. I'm considering trying to flash the BIOS to see if it does anything, but I'm thinking that it could be a heat related problem as well.

If so, it might be because there was excess thermal grease, so I'd like to get some ideas on what the best way to clean that off is. I'm looking for advice on both the heatsink and the processor itself - I don't want to accidentally fry anything, or leave a residue on the surface of either.

Thanks in advance for any [H]ard tips you can give me. :)
 
those chips do not have the IHS correct?

but either way take some of her nail polish remover and dip a Qtip in it and put some on it and gently rub it away. It may take a few qtips. Also if you had the old stuff go out away from the core then clean that as well.

For the heatsink do the same method or use a papertowel.


Make sure they are both good and clean and dry. And put a little amount of thermal grease and put your heatsink back on.
 
nail polish remover has a lot of excess crap that it'll leave behind. 91 or 99% rubbing alcohol ftw ;)
 
snyper238 said:
those chips do not have the IHS correct?
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I'm not sure what IHS means, but maybe...integrated heat sink? It doesn't have one of those, if that's what it means.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
nail polish remover has a lot of excess crap that it'll leave behind. 91 or 99% rubbing alcohol ftw ;)
Click to expand...

Hmm...I was thinking of rubbing alcohol, but I wasn't sure if that would really cut the grease or not. I seem to remember it having more of a "smearing" affect before.

Well, I do have that already at least, if that's the recommended way to go about it. :D

Any other suggestions for techniques or materials are always welcome. :)
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
nail polish remover has a lot of excess crap that it'll leave behind. 91 or 99% rubbing alcohol ftw ;)
Click to expand...

agreed.

rubbing alcohol works great, and most importantly is cheap.
 
Dalrain said:
I'm not sure what IHS means, but maybe...integrated heat sink? It doesn't have one of those, if that's what it means.
Click to expand...

IHS is the metal plate on top of the cpu core to protect from breaking and to spread the heat (IHS = Integrated Head Spreader). A64 and P4 both has one but not the Athlon XP.
 
Ah, I see. So yes, the model I have does not have an integrated heat spreader. I was only one word off. :cool:

Will the alcohol also take care of any human grease that might have gotten on a heatsink? (i.e. skin/finger brushed the surface)
 
Dalrain said:
Will the alcohol also take care of any human grease that might have gotten on a heatsink? (i.e. skin/finger brushed the surface)
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ugh....'human grease' sounds so gross....

yeah, it'll do that.
 
I always use Spanish brandy, works a treat. Just dab a little on the end of a baby cotton bud (or a Qtip as Americans call it)
 
91% 2-propanol for the win.

Or Grain alcohol. That works too. But I prefer it in my mountain dew, not on my CPU.

(Yes, that rhymed.)
 
Personally I use an automotive paint prep spray product. It doesn't attack plastic, cuts grease, removes dirt and leaves zero residue. You can buy it at any Autozone or auto parts store that has auto body supplies. I usually remove most of the paste from the IHS and HSF with a clean paper towel, then spray the cleaner onto another clean paper towel and wipe off the rest. This usually takes about 3 paper towels and a few Q-tips. Apply the cleaner until there is zero evidence of the paste. It may look clean after one pass but trust me, it isn't. Once it is clean don't touch it with your fingers as this will leave oils on the surface. Clean and dry is what you want for your surfaces.
 
My vote is for Arcticlean. The stuff works great and it's only $5. Also protects your CPU and Heatsink from corrosion.
 
91% isopropyl alcohol can get a lot of the gunk out.

If that fails, then try acetone. Do not use nail polish remover, since that contains oils, and other moisturizers that will leave behind a residue. Just go to some place like Wal-Mart or Ace Hardware, and get ordinary acetone from the same areas that sell paint.

Other than that, you can try different products, such as those based on xylenes, or Goo-Gone, followed up by another wash with 91% isopropyl alcohol.
 
I like the automotive supply approach here, it sounds like they're good for that mirror finish I was picturing in my head. I'll have to look into the Arcticlean, that sounds interesting too...

It's pretty neat finding out the different tricks people use too. :D

I did know about the oil from the hands already though, notice my earlier mention of "human grease" that got a shiver out of quadnad. :p
 
I have used both nail polish remover and acetone and dont notice any difference in temps. If you get the non scented stuff there is a lot less chemical in it.

But like i said I use acetone a lot or like someone said above I will use the automotive paint prep. I call it wax and grease remover.


I ave wanted to try brakeclean and I think I will try it next time because I was going to use carb cleaner but it leaves a film so I didnt want to but brake clean next time :D
 
91% (the higher the better, I have a bottle of 99%) isopropyl alcohol is probably one of the most common solutions that will work the best. You'll find it at Wal-Mart or Meijer or a drug store (e.g. Rite-Aid), other places as well.

Arctic Clean is pretty nifty too, I got that before I got isopropyl alcohol and I'm not sure which one I like more. You can't go wrong with either.
 
Wow.. you guys are funny.

Lighter Fluid... a single drop, it will remove the grease without any effort (no scrubbing as it will eat away teh grease) and then it evaporates leaving NO residue at all.

Also won't catch fire because it evaporates.

It's what most Comp store technicians use.
 
Lighter fluid, huh? I would think it would leave behind something, but I suppose that would cut right though. (being a petroleum product...)
 
Dalrain said:
Lighter fluid, huh? I would think it would leave behind something, but I suppose that would cut right though. (being a petroleum product...)
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Yeah it doesn't leave anything.. try it.. pretty awesome stuff.. it's how I get my good overclocking temps.

Also removes those pink thermal pads with relative ease.. no scrubbing.
 
Yes .... using Naptha (aka - lighter fluid) is an old motorhead trick for cleaning brakes, cylinders etc ...

However these days I have found that it's almost always cheaper to buy a can of "Brakleen" or "Lectra-Motive" instead.
 
I used moonshine I got from my Arkansas in-laws once and it worked so good I keep a little in my tool box just for cleaning off as5. Only the good stuff my man charcoal filtered. :D
 
All I use it 99% isopropyl on the end of a q-tip, rub around. give it a whipe. Then wash it off with a damp rag. Seems to get that thin film of AS5 off quite well.

I have heard of some people actually washing it fully submerged in water, that might work too but I ain't trying anytime soon. :D


Edit: I will have to try the lighter fluid sometime. Is it just straight butane?
 
snyper238 said:
I have used both nail polish remover and acetone and dont notice any difference in temps. If you get the non scented stuff there is a lot less chemical in it.

But like i said I use acetone a lot or like someone said above I will use the automotive paint prep. I call it wax and grease remover.


I ave wanted to try brakeclean and I think I will try it next time because I was going to use carb cleaner but it leaves a film so I didnt want to but brake clean next time :D
Click to expand...
Be careful with Brakeclean as it attacks rubber (and possibly plastic). Might be a good way to loosen the IHS though...
Hmmm - lighter fluid - never thought of that. Good call.
 
slickmitch said:
I used moonshine I got from my Arkansas in-laws once and it worked so good I keep a little in my tool box just for cleaning off as5. Only the good stuff my man charcoal filtered. :D
Click to expand...
Interesting but a waste really. The active ingredient would be Ethyl alcohol would it not? Better to get a bottle of 99% Ethynol for $5 and save the shine for your belly. ;)
 
xLiquidx said:
>>>>>>>>>>
Edit: I will have to try the lighter fluid sometime. Is it just straight butane?
Click to expand...
Nope .... we are talking the liquid type = Naptha.
153215559


Butane would be a gas unless compressed.
 
spicey said:
I always use Spanish brandy, works a treat. Just dab a little on the end of a baby cotton bud (or a Qtip as Americans call it)
Click to expand...
yeah, i should waste my really expensive Jerez (spanish brandy) to wipe some goo of the cpu and/or heatsink!!

Hell NO!!!

Prefers 99% rubbing alcohol...
 
Susquehannock said:
Interesting but a waste really. The active ingredient would be Ethyl alcohol would it not? Better to get a bottle of 99% Ethynol for $5 and save the shine for your belly. ;)
Click to expand...


Of course :rolleyes: 3 drops for the as5, 3 shots for me. Its like a little treat for the ass whip of cleaning that stuff off. And I second the coffee filter.
 
pure Acetone or chlorate free isopropyl alcohol work best...

Nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol contain impurities...

If it is not booting or rebooting check the hardware, flashing the bios will not help and may obscure the problem if the problem is hardware or mainboard component related...

Does flashing the bios fix bad caps? NO!
 
Huh, I hadn't considered the possibility of a coffee filter before, but that would be perfect - tons of pores, and they're usually very soft. Cool!

As for the suggestion on the mobo, I'll have to look over the board again. I'm starting to wonder if it's possibly a power management driver problem when certain imaging software probes for scanning hardware? It really is a strange problem. :(
 
Dalrain said:
Huh, I hadn't considered the possibility of a coffee filter before, but that would be perfect - tons of pores, and they're usually very soft. Cool!

As for the suggestion on the mobo, I'll have to look over the board again. I'm starting to wonder if it's possibly a power management driver problem when certain imaging software probes for scanning hardware? It really is a strange problem. :(
Click to expand...

The coffee filter is mainly because it is lint free and unlike paper towels you wont be getting any pieces which would potentially be a heat trap stuck to your HS while cleaning it
 
I use Endust electronic wipes...works well, no residue and good for cleaning the inside/outside of your case also. ;)
 
Straight Acetone is great, 5.99 for a big can at lowe's just BE CAREFUL, don't get it on any non-metal part.
 
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