the thermal paste is a really thin application, use something like a credit card to smooth it on...less than a mm thick. Depending on the size it's something like a grain of rice spread out..it shouldn't be seeping over the edges of the chip when you reapply the cpu/gpu.you put the paste on, then put the cpu on, then turn on. take a look at the ylod repair for these things, it should sort some of these questions out for you.