How to Remove Arctic Ceramic Thermal Grease

Removing Arctic Ceramic Thermal Grease can be done with just a few household items.

Arctic Ceramic Thermal Grease is a popular compound most often used in CPU cores and heatsinks in computers. Occasionally, it is useful and even necessary to replace old components of computers and to remove and then replace the ceramic thermal grease. Removing old thermal grease is a straightforward process and can be achieved with just a few household cleaning items. Before attempting to remove Arctic Ceramic Thermal Grease, be sure that the cleaning products that you use are safe for the surface you are removing the thermal grease from.

Things You'll Need

• Rigid piece of plastic (e.g. credit card)
• Soft lint-free cloth
• Citrus-based goo cleaner
• Toothbrush
• Cotton swabs
• Isopropyl alcohol

Instructions

1. Scrape the Arctic Ceramic Thermal Grease with a piece of rigid plastic until no excess of old thermal grease can be removed.

2. Saturate the soft lint-free cloth with the citrus-based goo cleaner.

3. Wipe the saturated cloth over the remaining thermal grease residue until no more residue can be removed.

4. Saturate the toothbrush with the citrus-based goo cleaner.

5. Rub the toothbrush over any crevices that could not be reached with the saturated cloth until the crevices are clean.

6. Saturate the cotton swabs with the isopropyl alcohol.

7. Swab all areas that have been cleaned with the goo cleaner with the isopropyl alcohol swabs.

8. Allow the cleaned area to thoroughly dry before re-applying thermal grease, glue, or tape.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove any sources of power to the unit you are cleaning before you clean.

References

• Arctic Thermal Silver Compound Instructions: Removal Instructions
• Tom's Hardware: How to Get Rid of CPU Thermal Paste