cleaning off thermal pad

[Compnewb]

If im using Artic 5 Silver thermal compound for my cpu/heatsink how should i go about taking the default thermal pad that is on the heatsink?

Do i just scrape it off?

And what is a good household cleaner for removing any remaining bits of the pad?

Thanks

 

[GrimReaper23]

90 % + Rubbing alcahol

 

[U-Toast]

yup rubbing alcohol will work fine.

 

[ApM]

I'm sure this has been posted before, try using the search.

First use a creditcard perfably one you are not going to use again, or very rarely.

Scrape the paste off using this fristly, and then for the rest there are numerious ways to remove the paste you can use a cleaner which is designed for removing paste which can be found at most online retailers.

For household, I used some nailvarnish remover, you can use this only if it doesn't include any added substances, like colouring.

You can also use 79-99% alcohol.

 

[ApM]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_big2.htm

 

[ImUseless]

You can use as low as 70% isopropyl alcohol(rubbing alcohol)
but the 90%+(95% to 99%) is a little more aggressive at cleaning
and dries a little faster and is slightly more pure.

Use an old credit card to scrape of old pad or anything that wont
scratch or mar the heatsink surface. A plastic putty knife can also
work nice but buy a new one and dont use an old one or one with
a metal blade.

Clean both the heatsink as well as the CPU of all the pad and
residue completely.

Use a lint-free cloth-like what you would use to clean eye glasses.

Dont use any cleaner like polish remover with an oil base or
ingredient.