Does CA eat plastic?
 

Hi. Last night I installed a servo into a bracket shortly after I used CA to glue the wood. I pulled the servo out of the bracket and it looked like I had dropped the servo in acid. See attached picture.

What is going on here with the CA? What other materials does CA react with in a similar fashion? I assume I shouldn't use CA on a plastic canopy.

RE: Does CA eat plastic?
 

CA eats some plastics, but not the stuff used for servo casings. That's just residue from the fumes it produces while curing. They actually use this process in forensics for fingerprinting some objects.

CA does react to polystyrene, aka Styrofoam. If applied, it produces an exothermic reaction that melts the foam. It produces a similar reaction with cotton as well. Special foam safe CA that doesn't do this is widely available.

RE: Does CA eat plastic?
 

Don't worry; that's what CA looks like when it cures on a surface. It doesn't "dry", but hardens.

Are you using thick, thin, or medium viscousity? Looks like thin. When gluing up with CA on porous materials (aka wood) use thick CA. It won't run, and will seal better.

Or even better, use epoxy, as it's a gap filling adhesive. CA isn't designed for use with really porous materials like open-grained wood.

RE: Does CA eat plastic?
 

As the others have said, that's just the residue from the CA fumes. You're fine.

Ken