A few people asked me for details about opening up my GZ302, repasting it with PTM7950, replacing the thermal putty, and swapping the back cover, so I figured I’d write up my experience.

Overall, the process is very manageable if you have the right tools and take your time. The two biggest things are:

• Being careful while separating the display assembly
• Lifting the heatsink straight up because of the liquid metal

The ASUS service manual was also extremely helpful and lined up closely with the actual teardown process.

If you are just repasting the liquid metal and are fast I think you could do it in about two hours, I am slower and it probably took me longer but it is hard to gauge as I also completely dissembled the laptop too.

Tools Used

• Phillips screwdriver #2
• Torx T5 screwdriver (outer case + SSD cover)
• Plastic spudger
• Suction cup pliers
• Fine tweezers
• Painter’s tape
• Q-tips / cotton swabs
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Toothpicks

Replacement Part

Back Cover Panel: 90NR0JY1-R7AM10

Sourced from ASUS Parts Shop: ASUS Parts Shop

ASUS Service Manual

ROG Flow Z13 (2025) Service Guide

Display Removal

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures until I had already removed the heatsink, so I’ll describe the display removal

After removing the exterior Torx screws, SSD cover, and SSD cover screws, I used suction cup pliers to gently lift the display enough to slide a plastic spudger underneath and begin releasing the plastic clips.

I started at the bottom edge near the keyboard connector, then worked up both sides before finishing at the top.

The suction cup pliers helped a lot because they provided enough lift without requiring excessive force that could risk damaging the display.

Once the display is unseated, keep it close to the chassis. There are two ribbon cables attached that can be damaged if too much tension is applied.

After disconnecting those cables, the display assembly can be fully removed.

Battery Removal

Next, I removed the battery following the service manual instructions.

Be careful with the ribbon cable routed over the battery and make sure it is disconnected properly before lifting the battery out.

At this point, you’ll have access to the heatsink assembly.

Removing the Heatsink

By the time I took my first picture, I had already removed the heatsink.

When removing the heatsink, you absolutely want to lift it straight upward vertically.

Because the system uses liquid metal, moving the heatsink sideways can cause the liquid metal to spill onto the motherboard.

As an extra precaution, I used blue painter’s tape around the die area to help contain any accidental spread.

Cleaning the Liquid Metal

This was easily the slowest part of the process.

I used Q-tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol to slowly gather and remove the liquid metal from the die. Over time, the liquid metal starts to bead together, which makes it easier to collect and remove.

Keep cleaning even after you think it looks done. Continue until the Q-tips come away completely clean/white

Foam Gasket Around the Die

I mostly kept the original gasket foam surrounding the die area on the heatsink because most of it was still intact and uncontaminated.

However, part of the lower section had liquid metal on it, so I removed that portion.

Isopropyl alcohol will dissolve the foam, so you can wipe away any affected gasket foam as needed or you can get rid of it entirely if you want to be more certain.

Cleaning the Thermal Putty

Cleaning the blue thermal putty also took a while because it gets packed into the small gaps around the memory modules. In addition to q-tips and isopropyl alcohol, I also used toothpicks to get into the tight spaces.

Applying PTM7950 and Thermal Putty

After cleaning everything, I applied the PTM7950 to the CPU die and thermal putty to the memory modules.

I will say I forgot to trim the PTM7950 precisely to the exposed die size, so I ended up wasting some material and I also used a little too much thermal putty.

Back Cover Replacement

I’ll skip the full back cover replacement walkthrough since this post is already long, but the ASUS service manual covers the process well.

One note: The manual states the Wi-Fi modules become nonfunctional after replacement, but if you carefully remove the Wi-Fi antennas, they can still work perfectly fine.

I’ll attach the photos for the back cover as well and if anyone has questions about the teardown, repaste, or back cover replacement, feel free to ask.