How to clean up thermal compound

I bought a whole bunch of components for a new build and then discovered that my motherboard didn't perform as described (i.e. wouldn't run my processor) so I sent it with its power supply back for a refund. That meant I had to take out my processor (an AMD Athlon 64 X2) and its heatsink/fan which in turn meant that the thermal compound seal was broken. I assume that I have to get new thermal grease to replace the old, stock seal that I broke. If this is correct, how should I go about cleaning off the old stuff and putting on the new?

 

Rubbing alcohol and q-tips, and lots of time and patience.

 

Yup, %70 if you can get it. and make it shine! Don't forget, more is not better. A rice grains worth is all you would need. Too bad they sent the wrong mobo Mongoose. :guns Takes the fun right out of a new build

 

Thanks very much for your sympathy augie... yes, it has been hell. :major

I've got q-tips and 70% isopropyl, but how important is it to keep things from touching the pins on the processor. I assume this is life-endingly critical. Also, how exactly should I use the q-tips and alcohol? I'm guessing just dip a small bit of the q-tip into the alcohol and very carefully loosen up the compound off the top of the processor and bottom of the heatsink. Should I somehow clean the cpu upside down so nothing leaks down the side into the pins? Should I start by scraping off as much compound as I can with a plastic card and then polish the surfaces off with qtips?

I've never done this before, its a 170$ piece of metal, and I'm rather "detail-oriented" as they call it so you'll understand my concern.

 

Don't do any scraping, even with a credit card. any scratches you make would look like the grand canyon under a microscope. Start with some kleenex tissues and muscle off as much as you can from the heat sink then use a new tissue with some alcohol to clean it up (I use 90% its only a little more than the 70 at the drugstore). For processors covered with a metal plate (like Intel P4's) you can also start with tissue and finish the same way but on AMD's with the exposed chip use tissue sparingly and switch to q-tips quickly. Don't worry about alcohol or a little grease moving to the pins but don't be sloppy either. For AMD's I like to work from the outside towards the center holding the chip at the edges and once most grease is removed then work on the stuff stuck in the creases around the edge of the little chip.

While you have everything apart why don't you google "heat sink lapping" and see what its all about. Look for a place that describes it not selling supplies. You can get 600grit sand paper from Sears and some auto supply places will have even finer grit wet/dry paper. I like to finish off with some old style car polish (turtle wax in the can). I spead some on a piece of paper on a piece of glass like from a picture frame (I use the same glass when sanding too) and move the sink flat in one direction til almost all scratches from the sanding are gone then do a final polishing with my finger and some soft tissue with a little polish on it and finally an alcohol cleaning to remove any polish. I can see myself when its done right, and a 50 degree proc will run at 40 when the sink is flat and shiny.

 

Well I cleaned it up as much as I could with qtips, tissues, and 70% rubbing alcohol but the processor top and heatsink still look grayish, and the heatsink has some gray stains that won't come off.

 

have you tried dedicated remover?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100010

 

That stuff costs money!!

It won't hurt anything if the surfaces just look gray will it? Especially if I lap my heatsink...

 

I wouldn't worry about alittle stuff left over. No Processor I have cleaned ended up perfectly clean and green like new.

 

Agreed. If all that is left over is a few grey stains, then you're fine.