Finger nail polish remover. Also know as acidtone

(acetone) - you can get straight acetone at paint/hardware stores 😀

Be careful though because acetone will dissolve some plastics (ABS is probably fine..?) and remove screen printed text, logos etc very easily. Try it in a non-visible spot first.

I remember having used finger nail polish on a playstation 1 game case and it damaged it badly ... (hopefully these cases are still quite common)I hope that it won't react that way with the case's plastic ! Hopefully the super glue residue is situated on the top of the computer so there won't be any labels here 😀

Here's how it looks like (I don't have enough room for the screen though)

Acetone will dissolve ABS plastics.

I've had some success with a combination of ethanol and mechanical removal when trying remove cyanoacrylate glue from plastic surfaces. Apply ethanol generously, and peel away. It doesn't dissolve the cyanoacrylate, but it seems to find its way in between the glue and the plastic, weaken the bond, and make peeling the glue off easier. Works on hot glue too. Don't ask me how and why it works, but it does. Just don't expect a miracle cure, you'll have to put some elbow grease into it too 😀

There are commercial cyanoacrylate removal products, you can find them in hobby stores, but I believe they're just as aggressive towards ABS as acetone. From the smell, I'd guess they're some mix of aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones.

einr wrote:

Be careful though because acetone will dissolve some plastics (ABS is probably fine..?) and remove screen printed text, logos etc very easily. Try it in a non-visible spot first.

Acetone dissolves ABS. In fact it's the best solvent for ABS out there. Trust me, I make glue from my leftover ABS pieces from 3D printing by dissolving them in acetone.

And actually nail polish remover is not acetone. It's a mixture of esthers, primarily ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. I think it will dissolve plastics (probaby ABS too) quite well.

Neither of these will dissolve cured superglue, which is cyanoacrylate. There is a specific solvent for cyanoacrylate, but I forget the name of it. It's actually not very good, or useful.

For soft glues (that still stick) I've used rubber erasers (ex.: Staedtler mars plastic eraser) to clean sticky glue remains.
Sure it's mechanical, but worked well for me when I didn't trust solvents for the job.

I've also used duct tape on uneven surfaces. Applying the sticky surface of the tape over the sticky part to remove, then pulling quickly.

quote from Wikipedia's article on cyanoacrylate:

"Cyanoacrylate is not resistant to friction if applied to a smooth surface. Using either sugar or sandpaper can remove a good amount of cyanoacrylate from a user's fingertips."

Try rubbing it with sugar or a fine grained abrasive (something like 600-grit alumina or such).

stamasd wrote:

Acetone dissolves ABS. In fact it's the best solvent for ABS out there. Trust me, I make glue from my leftover ABS pieces from 3 […]
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einr wrote:

Be careful though because acetone will dissolve some plastics (ABS is probably fine..?) and remove screen printed text, logos etc very easily. Try it in a non-visible spot first.

Acetone dissolves ABS. In fact it's the best solvent for ABS out there. Trust me, I make glue from my leftover ABS pieces from 3D printing by dissolving them in acetone.

And actually nail polish remover is not acetone. It's a mixture of esthers, primarily ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. I think it will dissolve plastics (probaby ABS too) quite well.

Neither of these will dissolve cured superglue, which is cyanoacrylate. There is a specific solvent for cyanoacrylate, but I forget the name of it. It's actually not very good, or useful.

Googled it, and it actually seems to be a few of them. Nitromethane is interesting. Its molecule is quite polar, so it should be easier to plastics, and at least here it's kind of easy to source. Some R/C enthusiasts mix it in the fuel for their models as a booster. Might be worth a try.

stamasd wrote:

einr wrote:

Be careful though because acetone will dissolve some plastics (ABS is probably fine..?) and remove screen printed text, logos etc very easily. Try it in a non-visible spot first.

Acetone dissolves ABS. In fact it's the best solvent for ABS out there. Trust me, I make glue from my leftover ABS pieces from 3D printing by dissolving them in acetone.

And actually nail polish remover is not acetone. It's a mixture of esthers, primarily ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. I think it will dissolve plastics (probaby ABS too) quite well.

Yeah, I know some plastics are OK with acetone but I mistakenly thought ABS was one of them. My bad 😀

Some nail polish removers *are* acetone-based though. Probably they've partially moved away from that because it dries skin out really bad but some brands are still acetone. I'll leave it at that so as to not turn the thread into a discussion of cosmetic products 😉