its not stupid at all. its scary as all (-)#!! but its not , once you do it a couple a times.
the best way I have found is look at the heatsink base, kinda hover over the chip, and figure out the basic placement of the silver, on said heat sink.
then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip.
then you put a small amount in the middle, and with plastic card (any old gift card or bank card) and paper towel in hand, carefully move the silver vertically and horizontilly, using the tape as a depth guide. yes only that deep. But make it smooth as suri cruises ass.
pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.
http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/