Cleaning CPU-s

[Adam]

Hello,
Im a beginner cpu collector and I have one important question that I need answered:

What do you use to clean the thermal paste (and other dirt) from the CPU-s??

Im most concerned about the "plated" ones, because of my lack of knowledge I touched them with fingers and left fingerprints on them
So now im afraid to even touch them without proper knowledge... Any advice would be welcome
Thx.

[g0b]

Hi,

Personally, I use Acetone. It works very well to remove thermal paste and other dirt, while preserving painted labels.

Beware though with P2 / P3 / Xeon plastic cartridge : they melt it you use Acetone on them. But for ceramic CPU, it's perfect.

g0b

[smithy]

Yep I use acetone as well. Works a treat. I also try isopropyl alcohol and it works quite well on certain stuff like stickers, but acetone is the number 1.
If you have really tough stickers that some suppliers put on, soak it in acetone and then rub the sticker and it should break up into little pieces

[Adam]

Hmm
For ceramic cpus and K6 alike (when metal part is made with steel-like metal) that seams reasonable but what about those golden ones?
Won't cloth with acetone leave some trails the surface of Pentium PRO, Cyrix 6x86 etc. ?
The plated part is made of some sort of copper alloy I think, and copper is very reactive (touching Pentium PRO has left fingerprints on it)...

[g0b]

No problem with goldcaps. It works well also, without any damage.

g0b

[Windmiller]

Another method I have started using when thermal past wont come off (example: black Pentium pro's) with normal methods I heat up the top with heat gun or hair dryer and then quickly rub it off the paste and it comes right off.

[Neon]

Toluene works well for thermal interface materials and some stickers, including many cases where acetone is only somewhat useful. However, caution is advised when using on some older cpus with printing. If unsure whether the printing would be removed, check on a small portion first.

[Adam]

Ok, thx 4 answers, time to do the cleaning!

[cocoe]

Yes, acetone is the best for ceramic, metalic and gold surfaces and a dry toothbrush to remove dust from heatshinks, PGA pins or small slits.

cocoe

[Guest]

I used acetone on my first cleaning attempts and it will work, but BE CAREFUL:
1- It evaporates very fast and that could mean that the paste or adhesive smears also dry before you can wipe off the solvent.
2- Acetone is volatile and can also remove painted print and some ink print on the chip top. This is not good....
3- Toluene is very toxic to breath- be careful.
My best results removing gummy label adhesives from chips (EPROMS especially) has been with generic pure "mineral spirits" that you can buy at any hardware store cheaply. It hasn't disturbed any ink or paint on my chips yet. Just try rubbing easily at first to make sure your not removing any ink print.

This and also heat work well removing thermal paste and many other dirty spots and it leaves my chips surface looking fresh and like new.
The mild solvent odor doesn't last long after being wiped off with a cotton rag.

[johnorun]

"Guest" post is mine,,,,

[smithy]

My advice is stay clear of Toluene. This is dangerous stuff - bad for your health (unless using breathing apparatus). There are safer ways to clean

[Neon]

Toluene is not very toxic to breathe, if you are not breathing high concentrations for hours per day.

You should of course use any solvent - toluene, acetone, mineral spirits, turpentine, etc. - in a well ventilated area.
You don't want to splash these all over yourself, which should not be an issue, since you don't need very much.
Keep the lid on the container.
Use a large enough applicator that you don't get a lot on your hands. If you are squeamish about it, wear rubber gloves.

[smithy]

[Neon]

Heavy chronic toluene exposure is linked to kidney damage, but occasional low concentration exposure is not a major health issue, nor is it a cumulative poison. In toxicology, time and concentration of exposure are the keys.

Here are the relevant portions of the Material Safety Data Sheets for toluene and acetone. Note that either can cause neurological impairment at high concentrations. Thus the need to use in well ventilated areas, limit exposure, etc. There are additional problems with chronic exposure to toluene.

Toluene: