# Removing Thermal Adhesive



## Rayce185

Hello,

I recently glued some heatsinks onto the RAM chips of my graphics card using Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. Unfortunately the card broke, and I need to RMA it.
I was already able to remove the heatsinks, but there is still a bit of hardened residue left on the chips.

Is there any way of removing the rest of the adhesive?


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## dante020

It's supposed to be a permanent adhesive so I'd be surprised if you could get it all off without breaking something. Good luck!


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## Rayce185

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dante020*
> 
> It's supposed to be a permanent adhesive so I'd be surprised if you could get it all off without breaking something. Good luck!


I left the card in the freezer over night. After that it was no biggie removing the heatsinks. I just need to get the little "crusts" off now...


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## dante020

No solvent is going to remove the epoxy before you do damage to something else. Your only option is sanding or prying with a knife or another sharp object. I wouldn't have high hopes for either choice.


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## SteveB

I'm piggy-backing my question on this topic.
I have an older Gateway M285E, 1.66ghz laptop.

My video card has died, and according to a few articles I've read, it can be replaced. I've opened up the laptop and noticed that there is an orange adhesive that holds the card in place, running the perimeter of the card.

I've been reading the various articles, and so far I cannot find anything that explains how to remove it.
The idea of breaking the card off, or attempting to break the adhesive doesn't sound all that wise the deeper I get into this.

Any ideas?

TYIA.


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## Blameless

For the OP:

Acetone will soften it enough to remove.

You'll need to soak some paper towel in it and place it over the epoxy, while trying to keep it away from stickers, then seal the whole card up in a plastic bag to slow down evaporation of the acetone. Let it sit for a day or so, then try to scratch off the remaining epoxy with your fingernail or a plastic tool.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SteveB*
> 
> I'm piggy-backing my question on this topic.
> I have an older Gateway M285E, 1.66ghz laptop.
> My video card has died, and according to a few articles I've read, it can be replaced. I've opened up the laptop and noticed that there is an orange adhesive that holds the card in place, running the perimeter of the card.
> I've been reading the various articles, and so far I cannot find anything that explains how to remove it.
> The idea of breaking the card off, or attempting to break the adhesive doesn't sound all that wise the deeper I get into this.
> Any ideas?
> TYIA.


Pictures?


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## Hatfieco

Dab a little tal strip on top of the heatsink. That stuff takes anything off of anything. Other than that Id just put the thermal pads back on and reassemble the card. Then hope for the best when they get it lol.


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## Rayce185

The heatsinks were already off, I just needed to remove the residue on the memory chips.

I just used something sharp and carefully scratched off most of it, then used loads of acetone to rub off the rest. There was still some over the edges, but you couldn't really see it. Let's hope they'll replace the card anyway.


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## Kane2207

You could always try Isopropyl alcohol, that works a treat for anything I need to clean gunk off, works well before I have to re-TIM things.


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## Cakewalk_S

I was told, get a air can. Then spray alot of air out, then flip the can over, once its SUPER cold, like you can barely hold the can, and the spray the liquid which will probably be like ice/snow, on the epoxy or heatsink surface, the cold should make it brittle and easy to remove...or at least that's what I've read....


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## Hallworth

I was able to remove the heatsinks from my R9 290 card (I had installed the Arctic Accelero Extreme III) using needle-nose pliers. I grabbed the heatsinks by a blade and wiggled it back and forth until they came off. It was quite easy to remove the heatsinks this way, but it destroyed the heatsinks and left residue glue on the ram. I attempted to use isopropyl alcohol on the residue but it was not effective. I will try the acetone and let you know. otherwise, I'll just try to scrape it off manually.


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## TECHNDAIZ

*Best solution for removal of ASTA*

From all I've read in this post no one has posted the solution suggested by Artic Sylver Website for cleaning Artic Sylver Thermal Adhesive, they claim this solutions can emulsify the Artic sylver making it easy to clean. Please follow the link below.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arcticlean.htm

Technical Friend.


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## 8051

I've used carb cleaner/throttle body cleaner on q-tips. It removed most all the thermal adhesive and I scraped off the rest w/a small knife blade.


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