Best way to clean off Goo Gone?

Ok.

This is kind of a "make sure and see what everyone else says" thread, and I'd appreciate your input. :)

I bought my P4 2.6C.
I used my stock hs/fan and its thermal tape for about a week.
I read that I should be using thermal compound for lower temps.
I removed the thermal tape from the cpu and hs using Goo Gone and Isopropyl Alcohol 70% .
I was told that Goo Gone was a mistake because it had oils and would decrease my hs's effectiveness.

Can I just clean off everything with a lint free cloth and like 20 (or 100, whatever) applications of 90%+ Isopropyl Alchohol?
Does it really matter that much?

I can't see that being a problem personally.... but ask someone who knows for certain

I use goo gone, no problems here :) it isn't a petrol based product so the residue should evaporate, it's a citrus based product :)

Thanks guys! :)

i find a dry tissue works fine, at removing as3 anyway

shouldn't use soft tissue tbh, especially more expensive stuff, has a habit of leaving lots of little bits behind, i find kitchen towel works ok though.

from the arctic silver website :-

Quote:

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2. ONLY Arctic Silver thermal compound should be between the processor core and the heatsink. Remove any thermal pads or other interface material from the heatsink before applying the Arctic Silver. Thermal pads can be scraped off with a plastic tool that will not scratch the bottom then the remnants can be removed with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) acetone, mineral spirits, or high-purity isopropyl alcohol.
Never use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus based cleaners and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.

If your heatsink has a thermal 'pad' mounted on it, this pad must be removed before using Arctic Silver thermal compound. Thermal pads are made with paraffin wax that melts once it gets hot. When it melts, it will fill in the microscopic valleys in the heatsink with wax. To minimize the permanent contamination of the mounting surface with wax, the thermal pad should be removed before it is used and melted. Never use heat or hot water to remove the pad, the heat will melt the wax into the heatsink.

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they're so anal, i use nail polish remover which is citrus based, find it works just fine.

Best to use isopropyl after using the citrus based cleaner, just to make sure.

Thank you everyone!

I went and bought 91% iso alcohol and a lint-free cloth at Wal-Mart for about $2 total.
I then cleaned the cpu and hs at least 5 times each with alcohol soaked cotton swabs then another 5 times each with the alcohol soaked lint-free cloth.

Btw, I am still in the cleaning and waiting for thermal compound stage.
The last time I used my cpu was before I removed the thermal pad.

I'm trying my best not to worry, but I haven't assembled a pc in about 4 years.
I'm trying to be as safe as possible and make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

tbh the negative effects will be so minimal you won't notice, it's just AS trying to be akward and picky