thermal pads

[joxsfunk]

how do you remove those thermal pads from hsf's?

and pls recommend me some thermal pastes.

[KenKun]

Remove it with hard edge object .. like a credit card, or a blade .. be sure not to scratch the base, it might take some time so be patient.
Now remove the left-overs of the thermal pad (small traces) with a cloth filled with Acetone, keep rubbing till the base has no single mark of the thermal pad.

Use AS3 for best results.

Regards

Also check this out:
How do you take off a HSF thermal pad?
Cleaning Artic Silver

[sKiT]

either use a razor blade or use a hard non abrassive object. Nothing that will scratch the bottom of the heatsink.