I Used Nail Polish Remover On CPU To Get Rid of Thermal Paste!

[Shark Dentist]

Is this ok? I'm absolutely freaking the hell out because my PC now reeks of the stuff! I used a slightly damp tissue and it didn't leak anywhere!

 

[Newbbuilder11]

Does your computer still work??

 

[reedo_43]

I've used it...it will be okay. The smell will go away.

 

[Shark Dentist]

I haven't turned it on yet because I'm installing the cooler master 212 evo. Was this really bad putting polish remover on it? 🙁

 

[Someone Somewhere]

It's fine; mostly acetone I believe. Should evaporate after a while, though not as fast as iso-propyl alcohol.

 

[Shark Dentist]

Oh my god,thnx! I thought I had screwed up the system! I haven't caused any minor damages have I?

 

[reedo_43]

Not at all. Like I said, I have used it before. Acetone evaporates very quickly.

 

[Shark Dentist]

Great,thanks And the smell will go?

 

[reedo_43]

Eventually

 

[ko888]

There's more to nail polish remover than just acetone. There is the oil that gives it a fragrance, glycerin to provide moisturizing, deionized water and even dye to give it some color. Really not recommended for removing TIM (Thermal Interface Material) because it leaves a film.

I've used pure acetone to clean the TIM off of my CPU and it doesn't leave a lingering odor.

 

[Shark Dentist]

The smell seems to be mostly gone, and can I remove the film? Will new thermal paste do the trick? Will it decrease the performance of my i7 4790k CPU?

 

[Teemi]

Just get 99 percent alcohol and redo it

 

[Someone Somewhere]

It'll be a little warmer, because there's a little worse thermal contact.

If you get good isopropyl alcohol, it'll clean off just fine.

 

[capt_taco]

You can get just about anything you want on the top of the CPU without worry. It's only a heat spreader; just a flat piece of metal that has nothing to do with the operation of the processor except for cooling. Nail polish remover, motor oil, peanut butter, whatever - as long as it comes off, you'll be fine.

I mean, I wouldn't recommend any of that, duh, but as long as it's not something electrically conductive, it's probably not going to cause any permanent damage. What you really want to watch out for is if anything slopped off the sides and went under the heat spreader/onto other components/etc.

Yes, you'll want new thermal paste. You're supposed to re-apply it every time you take off the CPU fan, and operating without any would be super dumb.

 

[Newbbuilder11]

You can get just about anything you want on the top of the CPU without worry. It's only a heat spreader; just a flat piece of metal that has nothing to do with the operation of the processor except for cooling. Nail polish remover, motor oil, peanut butter, whatever - as long as it comes off, you'll be fine.

I mean, I wouldn't recommend any of that, duh, but as long as it's not something electrically conductive, it's probably not going to cause any permanent damage. What you really want to watch out for is if anything slopped off the sides and went under the heat spreader/onto other components/etc.

Yes, you'll want new thermal paste. You're supposed to re-apply it every time you take off the CPU fan, and operating without any would be super dumb.

True, my friend benchmarked a aftermarket cooler without thermal compound on his CPU and he got up to 57 C on idle lol. Of course that was after 20 minutes sooo.. that's bad XD