Reddit mentions of Permatex 85120 Liquid Electrical Tape, 4 oz

Yeah you're desk would probably work just fine. It shouldn't make a huge mess, it's not like you're using a power sander haha.

The CLU is just extremely hard to clean off copper, as in it bonds to it. You end up having to use some sort of abrasive to really get it off. With a lapped IHS, or lapped block, you'd probably end up having to "relap" it with some higher grit sandpapers (800+) to return to a clean copper finish.

You can certainly lap the H80 and GPU blocks, but I would take them off and check them with a nice straight edge first. I would also only use the Gelid on those coolers, the H80 and GPU blocks. It will be much easier to clean if future removal is required and Gelid is some highly rated stuff already.

I would seriously recommend using the knife/razor method to remove the IHS. Like the saying it's "so easy, a caveman could do it" lol. Buy an X-ACTO #2 knife handle and their #26 whittling blade. Or one of their kits that includes those since you'd get a lot more for your money if you had other uses. The #26 blade is the perfect length/width that you can easily judge how deep it's slicing through the glue, and long enough that you can hold it along the entire length of one side of the IHS after you cut through the corners.

Here's some crappy paint pics that should help explain the process:

Part 1 - http://i.imgur.com/MvYMYjL.png

Part 2 - http://i.imgur.com/J4Vc3C9.png

The reason I'm recommending the X-ACTO setup so highly is you have much greater control with the size of that blade attached to a real handle. Whereas if you used the typical loose razor blade like this:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GWfZ_4BQK7s/hqdefault.jpg

or this:

http://s19.postimg.org/zco5sqnsj/image.jpg

is harder to control, harder on the fingers, and you risk using too much force and pushing through the glue too far. The X-ACTO handle eliminates this imo.

This image really helps illustrate how much glue can be on there, and where the die/transistors are in relation to everything. So use that as a clue when you start your cuts. Like I previously said, the size (width of the cutting edge to non-cutting edge) of the #26 X-ACTO blade helps with visualizing how deep your cuts are getting.

http://i.imgur.com/6or5ATh.jpg?1

Now if this sounds complicated or risky, please let me assure you it's not that difficult. I'm just trying to be as thorough as possible with my explanation to help ease your concern. Using the method I described I had the IHS off in less than 5 min and I had never delidded anything before. The X-ACTO knife is so sharp. I mean it might feel like it takes more force than you'd think to cut through, but once it's off you'll be like "wow, that was easy."

This is the Liquid Electrical tape I used on the transistors after delid:

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-85120-Liquid-Electrical-Tape/dp/B003ERU04W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449519375

This is a solid X-ACTO kit that has the blade and handle I'm recommending, but you could buy them separately for cheaper:

http://www.amazon.com/X-Acto-X5028-Xacto-Do-It-Yourself-Set/dp/B000HGMA7I/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1449519412

Sandpaper you can get anywhere. I'd recommend the 3M Wetordry stuff. They're usually sold in packs with different grit ranges and sheet quantity. Maybe you could get single 9x11" sheets of individual grits at an auto parts store or something though.

Given the desires and constraints I see in your other comments, I'd say shorten the earth wire and dip it in the local equivalent of "brush-on insulator":

One example

second

third

fourth