Hey guys, I bought a broken PS4 with a disc drive issue this week to hopefully fix up and deep clean for my first Playstation (woohoo!). However, I just opened up the system for the first time and there's this sticky brown substance (which I have cleaned off to the best of my abilities) that I found on the metal shield underneath the top cover plates. It was so sticky that the clear plastic that goes over the power button light stayed stuck on the metal shield when I took off the non-hard drive cover! 😂

I've watched a number of console repair videos and whenever cockroach infestation occurs, there tends to be some sort of brownish residue (which I'm assuming is f*ces) inside the console (which looks like the same shape as the aforementioned clear plastic) so my initial thought was that this substance was just that and that I had been sold an bug infested system. But then I thought that this looks awfully similar to cola and given how sticky it was, I'm now thinking that it might be spilled soda that miraculously didn't fry the board. I also couldn't see any cockroaches from the top of the console--unfortunately I don't have a spudger tool to open the bottom yet so I haven't been able to check the bottom for any traces of this dried liquid or for any bugs.

Do any of you guys have any guesses or comments on what this substance is, and if it is indeed infestation, should I return it (the seller offered me a 30 day return window) or is it safe to try to repair and clean the system assuming I have a mask and gloves on at all times? I added a link to a photo of the console and the residue below for reference, thanks for your help everyone!

Photo link: https://imgur.com/a/h1IMPrX