Oh man, that's rough. I remember when I built my first PC back in 2018, a buddy swore by spreading paste with a credit card to get a super thin even layer. Did that, and my CPU temps shot up like 15 degrees under load. Ended up pulling the cooler off and finding half the die was basically bare while the edges were a mess. Took me a solid afternoon scraping and cleaning before I got it right with a simple cross pattern.

Ain't it funny how the bad days teach you way more than the good ones ever do?

Robin66 has a point about just trying it, but I'd push back a little on the cheesecloth thing specifically. In my experience, the cloth does matter if you swap it out every 2-3 days like you would a dishrag. Leaving it uncovered meant the cheese dried out way too fast on the outside while staying soft inside, which isn't great for grating or cooking later. For the smell, I ended up putting the whole setup in a sealed container with a loose lid inside a regular fridge drawer, that kept the odor contained enough that my wife didn't notice. The mold issue is real if you let the cloth get damp and stay that way for a week, so I just tossed mine in the laundry after each use. Not a perfect system but it worked okay for me, your mileage will definitely vary depending on your fridge and how strong that cheese gets.

Got a cheapie brush from a hardware store last month and the head popped off on the third use. Guess that's what I get for trying to save ten bucks.

Honestly, I read somewhere that a guy in Vegas would freeze his water jugs overnight and use ice cubes in his mix to keep the temp down on scorching days. It makes sense because cold water gives you a few more minutes of working time before the chemical reaction speeds up. Ngl, the wet burlap trick sounds way more practical than hauling around frozen jugs though.