Anime-Beta TNG

So one of my cels that came awhile ago was put against cardboard, and then a cel bag was put over it. When I tried to remove it i realized it was stuck. So I slowly began pulling the two apart, and it was very successful--up until the very end

A small part of the hair for the character in the cel ended up staying stuck to the cardboard...so now theres a paint chip missing on the cel. And it was a pretty expensive cel too! (but it's from an old series so it obviously had line fading). But it just kinda makes me mad! But oddly enough, not that mad I'm just thankful it was a small chip and nothing major, so that's why Im not that angry.

Anyways, has anyone else had any situations where they accidently chipped off some paint from their cel from trying to seperate it from something?

I once had a paint chip stick to the inside of a cel bag when I took it out to scan! (Again, rather pricy cel, too.) I've treated those bags with considerably more respect from then on.

My sincere condolences. Yes, I know these objects have had very rough treatment before they came into our hands, and perhaps have never had anyone treat them with physical respect. (Some of the cels I've gotten on YJ have obviously been through anime Hades before they got to me.) But it's a shame to be the hand that causes the chip.

You always hurt the one you love.

I've successfully fixed cels with this problem before, but it can by risky to do so. I came up with everything below myself, not from resources. I don't claim it to be professional or the right thing to do, just going on past experiences.

First, you need to get the paint off the cardboard as intact as possible. If it was a sketch, I'd suggest gentally rolling the sketch and try to get part of the paint to lift off, then use another piece of paper to slide beneath the lifted off section, sliding back and forth to gentally cut the paint from the paper. If you have a lifted section on your cardboard, you can try that. Water might work in breaking down the cardboard and freeing the paint, assuming you don't want whatever is on the board.

Assuming you got the paint chips free in reasonable condition, next is to try to get it back on the cel. As I said before, this can be risky. Lowest risk is to just stick the paint on the back of the cel, put the cel paint-size-up on a clean flat surface, and gentally press on the loose paint for a few min. Often that's enough to reattach it semi-permanently. I usually try this first before attempting more drastic measures.

To more securely mount it, I often use separated cel paint of like color. Basically the pigment settles to the bottom over time, leaving the clear colorless vehicle at the top. Using a very similar color to begin with limits the risk of cross-contaminating pigments. I put the flake on the cel, then go over the edges where the separated chunks should attach to other paint on the back. If the area is large or there is no surrounding area, you can also dab a little of this on the front of the flake. If you don't have matching cel paint, take a cotton swab and stick it in high-percentage rubbing alcohol (Warning! Alcohol dissolves cel paint! Use with care! Do not work with the bottle anywhere near the cel!). Get a tissue and absorb most of the alcohol from the qtip until it is just slightly damp. Go over the side of the chip that faces the cel once, then stick the chip to the cel. The slight dissolving of the paint acts like a glue.

Anyway, that's what I've done in the past, as recently as last week, with success. Worst case I've ever had is when I didn't closely enough match the cel paint pigment to the cel flake, leaving a tiny bit of discoloring around the edges of the flake... but it was still way better than a huge hole in the middle of the cel.

If the cel was really expensive, though... I'd recommend getting it professionally restored. Keep in mind that many professional restorations involve wiping entire areas of the cel clean of all original paint and repainting the whole area to ensure color consistancy... so it may come back with less original paint than you sent it with.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

- Karen

If the hair is black, what is the best pen or paint to restore its color?


Cheers
Elot

http://www.chromacolour.com/store/cel_paint_usa.htm

I get mine here. Standard black is number 430. Keep in mind though that there are many shades of black... doesn't mean it will 100% match.

- Karen

Well, I tried to get the chip off the cardboard but it didnt work Oh well. His hair is yellow...And I don't want to risk it by trying to fix it with paint ^^;; I guess Ill just have to make do with a chipped cel

i am not sure where you purchased the cel, i am assuming an auction, but some cel dealers can provide you with restoration services or can at least recommend someone. if its a nice cel that you plan to keep for a good long while, and it was me, i would go the extra mile to get it professionally restored. good luck!

I would restore it, but I'm too paranoid it would get ruined if I tried to fix it.

I feel so stupid for removing it >_<

no no, dont feel stupid. we have all been there! there are some real good restoration services out there, some can fix the cel so that you can't even tell the difference. it is a little pricey, but worth it imo for those special cels.