P-7811 FX thermal paste application question

Hello there, I am planning to replace the existing thermal paste at my P-7811 FX with ICD7.
I am completely new to this issue, though have disassembled the unit allready several times for a number of reasons.
Thus let's assume I have disassembled the unit as described in the "complete disassembly guide thread".

How from there on would I proceed in order to replace the thermal paste at the CPU and the GPU (and if of any use apply it to the heat sink)?

Anything I have to be particularly careful with (I remember this odd pad)?

How do I best remove the old paste?

How much of the new paste should ideally be applied (just a drop, or should it be spread out)?

Do I leave it some time to "dry" before reassembling, or can I go straight ahead to reassamble?

Any help, walk through and hints will be most appreciated, also pictures would be most welcome.
Please just keep in mind, I am new to this, as well as not a native english speaker, thus one or the other technical wording might cause me to ask for specifics.

Many many thanks in advance!!

Best,
George

 

To remove the old paste, either use a designed solution (like the 2 bottle Arcticlean set), or just isopropyl alcohol (higher percentage the better) and scrub with something that won't leave residue behind (a lot of people seem to like to use coffee filters).

Innovation Cooling (the makers of ICD7) recommend using a pea-sized drop ( Innovation Cooling), and then applying pressure (in your case this would be by mounting the heatsink) to spread it out. There's no need to leave it out to dry; curing time, if any, for all thermal pastes involves turning on your notebook and using it, although you should probably avoid extreme use until curing is complete (I believe burn-in/curing time for ICD7 is about 2 hours).