Methylated spirit for remove thermal paste?

hello..

i wanna ask...i just bought methylated spirit instead of rubbing alcohol...it is 95% alcohol...

can i use it to remove the thermal paste on my cpu? or is it dangerous?

or i should just use alcohol swab (contain 70% of isopropyl alcohol) ?

Message quoted 1 times

Add a reply

Register or log in to remove.

I think that Meths will leave a slight deposit on the chip but I have used a small amount of aftershave to remove thermal paste before now without any bad things happening!

Cue being shot down by purists ;-)

Reply to SimonSplat

Best bet is to use a proper TIM cleaner, very cheap, but to be fair, i have used meths before with no disastrous effect, just a small amount on a tissue, and dont let it get on any non metal parts at all!

That's the advantage of isopropyl alcohol. If you get some on the nonmetallic parts, it's no problem.

Rubbing alcohol may contain lanolin. That will leave a deposit. I use 98% isopropyl and some kind of lint-free rag. If I drank coffee, I'd use a piece of a clean coffee filter.

Reply to jsc

dauf wrote :

hello..

i wanna ask...i just bought methylated spirit instead of rubbing alcohol...it is 95% alcohol...

can i use it to remove the thermal paste on my cpu? or is it dangerous?

or i should just use alcohol swab (contain 70% of isopropyl alcohol) ?

I had to look up what "methylated spirit" was. It turns out it's just British for a non-potable, non-beverage-taxed 90% ethanol/10% methanol mixture, which we in the States call "denatured alcohol." That will work well for removing thermal paste as it is a non-polar (organic) solvent with a very low water content. Thermal paste is readily dissolved by most organic solvents but not water, so your 70% isopropyl alcohol/30% water swabs won't work very well due to the high water content.

Here are some other things I've used and have had good experience with:
1. Benzene derivatives: toluene, xylene, and mixtures of the two. The yellow cans of Goof-Off are a mixture of toluene and benzene and are my favorite for removing thermal grease. IMHO, it works the best out of anything I've tried but has a lot of fumes.

2. 91% isopropyl alcohol. This is readily available at drugstores (I think you call them chemists' shops or apothecary's shops over there in Britain) and is very inexpensive but also has a significant odor.

3. 100% ethanol, aka 200-proof or absolute ethanol (not Absolut, that's a vodka with IIRC 43% alcohol.) This works well and has a minimal odor but it is expensive due to beverage taxes and is hard to find outside of a laboratory or industrial setting.

Stuff I'd avoid:
1. Rubbing alcohol. Unless you specifically look for the 91% isopropyl alcohol, you'll get stuff that's 70% isopropyl alcohol, 30% water. It's darn near useless in removing thermal paste. You might as well just use a dry cloth.
2. Water.
3. Household cleaning solutions, most of which are >90% water.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to MU_Engineer

WOW definately a best reply MU_Engineer case definately resolved

MU_Engineer wrote :

I had to look up what "methylated spirit" was. It turns out it's just British for a non-potable, non-beverage-taxed 90% ethanol/10% methanol mixture, which we in the States call "denatured alcohol." That will work well for removing thermal paste as it is a non-polar (organic) solvent with a very low water content. Thermal paste is readily dissolved by most organic solvents but not water, so your 70% isopropyl alcohol/30% water swabs won't work very well due to the high water content.

Here are some other things I've used and have had good experience with:
1. Benzene derivatives: toluene, xylene, and mixtures of the two. The yellow cans of Goof-Off are a mixture of toluene and benzene and are my favorite for removing thermal grease. IMHO, it works the best out of anything I've tried but has a lot of fumes.

2. 91% isopropyl alcohol. This is readily available at drugstores (I think you call them chemists' shops or apothecary's shops over there in Britain) and is very inexpensive but also has a significant odor.

3. 100% ethanol, aka 200-proof or absolute ethanol (not Absolut, that's a vodka with IIRC 43% alcohol.) This works well and has a minimal odor but it is expensive due to beverage taxes and is hard to find outside of a laboratory or industrial setting.

Stuff I'd avoid:
1. Rubbing alcohol. Unless you specifically look for the 91% isopropyl alcohol, you'll get stuff that's 70% isopropyl alcohol, 30% water. It's darn near useless in removing thermal paste. You might as well just use a dry cloth.
2. Water.
3. Household cleaning solutions, most of which are >90% water.

thanks!!! i'll go with the methylated spirit..later on i'll buy the arctic cleaner etc.
good info..

Reply to dauf

Focus On

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - Methylated spirit for remove thermal paste?