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#1 2006-09-14 2:41 pm
- clio
- a god-free muse

- From: Texas
- Registered: 2001-12-08
- Posts: 460
Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Okay, at work we have to use a dongle to print through our Colorburst RIP. My cow-orker had his dongle in the front USB port of his G5 but the plastic broke so he superglued it back and it looks like he put it back before the glue had dried completely because the dongle appears to be glued into the port.
He is wanting to try nail polish remover, but I don't feel this is a very good idea, so thought I would try here for any suggestions. Or is it hopeless?
"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me." - Emo Phillips
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#2 2006-09-14 3:01 pm
Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
IIRC Vaseline is a superglue solvent. Though in truth, nothing is really a superglue solvent. That said, have you tried wiggling it? A bit of sideways force might be enough to crack the glue.
Option 2: Does the dongle ever need to come out?
edit: According to the official web page http://www.supergluecorp.com/removingsuperglue.html acetone is the proper solvent to remove it.
Last edited by kb5zhh (2006-09-14 3:05 pm)
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#3 2006-09-14 3:03 pm
- KingFred
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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
You can melt superglue with acetone (the main ingredient in nail polish remover) but it's likely to also melt and/or damage the plastic around the port. You would definitely want to test acetone on an inconspicuous part of the case first to see what it would do.
If possible, I'd say carefully cut the thing out and sand/file off any jaggies.
Or buy a new Mac.
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#4 2006-09-14 3:06 pm
- Jonski
- System Lord

- From: Parts Unknown
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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Acetone, found in nail polish remover, should work. But if you can get hold of some methylene chloride (dichloromethane) that would be better.
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#5 2006-09-14 3:14 pm
- Pariah
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- From: Belly Of The Beast, Oklahoma!
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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
KingFred wrote:
You can melt superglue with acetone (the main ingredient in nail polish remover) but it's likely to also melt and/or damage the plastic around the port. You would definitely want to test acetone on an inconspicuous part of the case first to see what it would do.
If possible, I'd say carefully cut the thing out and sand/file off any jaggies.
Or buy a new Mac.
Even as aggressive as acetone seems to be it's actually quite harmless to most plastics.
"and it's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
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#6 2006-09-14 3:20 pm
- Light Speed
- Doubter of Einstein

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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
SAWZALL!!!!
That'll take it right off 
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#7 2006-09-14 3:46 pm
- clio
- a god-free muse

- From: Texas
- Registered: 2001-12-08
- Posts: 460
Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Well, we have to remove the dongle because he switched computers and it's on his old one. I guess we'll test it with a small amount of acetone. Our IT guy didn't seem too confident when we told him we wanted to try that, though. 
Yes, we've tried jimmying it every which way, but the thing is stuck solid. I'll mention your other suggestions as well.
"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me." - Emo Phillips
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#8 2006-09-14 6:36 pm
- Short Circuit
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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Acetone melts plastic, USB port = plastic.
But it seems to be the only way. Apart from pliers.
Eitehr way the G5 will have one less USB port.
superglue on a G5...
W
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#9 2006-09-14 7:56 pm
- spoonsprout
- Sharpshooter

- From: third bush to the left...
- Registered: 2005-07-16
- Posts: 92
Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Yes... If you leave certain plastics in pure acetone for an extended period of time, they will start to disolve. Key words here, folks... 'certain' 'pure' and 'extended'
Using enough acetone to disolve the superglue on the connector shouldn't cause any problems, and acetone by itself is very volatile. What that means for our practical purposes is that with any airflow, it will evaporate from the connector on the Mac before having chance to do damage. If you are using nail polish, which has been noted as being dilute acetone, its all the less likely to cause any appreciable harm. But the advice to try a dab on the back of the machine to check if it will cause cosmetic damage is sound as well.
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#10 2006-09-14 9:58 pm
- Pariah
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- From: Belly Of The Beast, Oklahoma!
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Re: Any suggestions for getting a superglued dongle out of a USB port?
Note: Most modern nail polishes are acetone free so be sure to choose the right kind.
"and it's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
Barack Obama
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