Cleaning off thermal paste without alcohol

[Maxtadas]

Got a new cpu cooler and I don't know what to clean the thermal paste with. Can't find isopropyl alcohol anywhere in my country, are there any other good ways to clean off thermal paste without damaging the cpu? Is 40% vodka okay?

[AlwaysFSX]

Frankly you can just wipe it off with a paper towel by itself if you're able to.

[Splodge1231]

Just watch that you don't scratch the surface

[Tenadisic]

just use a damp paper towel

 

[redirish]

Nail varnish remover, its the same thing.

 

wet the paper first than rub off the last of the paste, will evaporate, than use a clean paper towel after leaving it sit in the air for a minute or two.

 

hope that helps

 

 

[typographie]

1 minute ago, redirish said:

Nail varnish remover, its the same thing.

Nail polish remover is most commonly acetone which is functionally similar, but not the same. But as long as it's pure acetone, it's probably a decent choice for cleaning a CPU. It's often used to clean lab equipment.

[Maxtadas]

Just now, typographie said:

Nail polish remover is most commonly acetone which is functionally similar, but not the same. But as long as it's pure acetone, it's probably a decent choice for cleaning a CPU. It's often used to clean lab equipment.

Alright found some Nail polish remover in my house, should i put just a bit on top of some toilet paper and clean it off? The ingredients are: acetone, aqua and panthenol.

[redirish]

Not toilet paper its breaks up when wet, don't want pieces of it remaining.

 

You can use a cotton cloth or a tee shirt etc.

 

Paper towel does not mush up so easily.

 

 

 

 

[Maxtadas]

1 minute ago, redirish said:

Not toilet paper its breaks up when wet, don't want pieces of it remaining.

 

You can use a cotton cloth or a tee shirt etc.

 

Paper towel does not mush up so easily.

 

 

 

 

How about paper tissues? The same thing?

[dexT]

I use the blue shop paper towels. Solvent if it's a curing type paste.

[redirish]

tissues can mush up too.

 

Just saying that the paste may be very sticky, better to use cotton or kitchen paper towels.

[typographie]

48 minutes ago, Maxtadas said:

The ingredients are: acetone, aqua and panthenol.

While acetone is probably fine, the panthenol worries me a bit. It's used in consumer products as a moisturizer, and it may not evaporate completely off of your CPU. 

 

You can use water if you have to, just be very careful with it. Avoid getting it on anything but the heat spreader surface, and make sure it's completely evaporated before you put the cooler back on or run any electricity through it.

[Maxtadas]

I might try with just the paper towels then, don't have anything else. And I'm quite scared of using water.

 

[Krillingt75961]

4 hours ago, Splodge1231 said:

Just watch that you don't scratch the surface

Should be fine even with minor scratches. The thermal paste will fill those in.

[pyrojoe34]

3 hours ago, typographie said:

Nail polish remover is most commonly acetone which is functionally similar, but not the same. But as long as it's pure acetone, it's probably a decent choice for cleaning a CPU. It's often used to clean lab equipment.

As long as you are careful to not get it on anything plastic or painted (as it's an organic solvent) then it's fine to use. Alcohol is still a better choice though.

 

IMO the best option is to grab a box of Kimwipes on Amazon (like $3-5 for 280 wipes) and use 90-95% Isopropyl alcohol. They're both dirt cheap, last forever, and can be used for a ton of other random things.

[SilverMight]

I just used isopropyl alcohol on my CPU yesterday, just put it on a microfiber cloth and it gets it off fine.

[Zyndo]

4 hours ago, Maxtadas said:

Can't find isopropyl alcohol anywhere in my country, are there any other good ways to clean off thermal paste without damaging the cpu?

Wipe it off dry with a paper towel, Kleenex (tissue), coffee filter, or some disposable material like that. rubbing alcohol is merely to make the process easier and quicker as well as to help get really fine residue out (as well as leaving none behind since it will all evaporate). Its more of a recommendation, and its certainly not necessary. Just wipe off the CPU until the visible stuff is gone, then grab another paper towel and continue wiping (you will notice the paper towel, or whatever you're using, is still turning grey as you wipe). repeat this process until there is no more grey residue left on the paper tower when you wipe the CPU.

[TheLaserCucumber]

If nobody said it so far, you could use cleaning petrol too.