Microchamber stuck to my cel

[Withwingsablazed]

I just acquired a cel from space battleship Yamato and before buying it looked like a good cel, I don’t know if they stuck this paper in with it after for shipping but its very stuck to my cel. I actually been buying cels but i have no ever bought the paper microchamber stuff or seen it til now. I’m pretty sure that is what it is . So now its probably there forever … I don’t know how to downsize the file or id post it …

[tarakatsuki]

It's most likely regular paper and not microchamber paper. There are ways to try and remove paper if it's not too terribly stuck, in old posts here and on the FB group.

[sensei]

Microchamber does stick to paint, but not quickly and not tightly. And no service that I know of provides it free of charge.

It might be rice paper which was commonly used to separate cels during studio use and storage and does stick tight (over time ... simply putting a sheet of paper in with a cel for a few weeks is not enough to cause sticking). I'd say see how much and how tight it's stuck and try some of the tips collectors have developed to release it safely.

Good luck.

[oxypetalus]

Do this at your own risk but I have successfully removed rice paper and douga paper from my cels by slowly/gently wetting the paper until it easily peels off the cel. I use bottled/distilled water for this and immediately dry the cel off and let it dry completely before putting it back in storage. Please note that this destroys the paper so don't do it on paper sketches you wish to keep.

If you want to share an image but it's too large you could try uploading it to imgur.com and then share the imgur link.

[tarakatsuki]

You don't need to wet the paper to remove it and destroy it...I've separated tons of sketches and cels and have the sketches intact, although sometimes you do lose a little bit of paper in some spots. If the sketch is too badly stuck then I just leave it. But I've had a lot that were lightly stuck and the paper easily peeled off.

[sensei]

Still the basic principle for me is "Primum non nocere," or "Above all, don't damage the cel." I have had paint peel off of the back of the cel in places regardless of the method, and so I'd say if the cel is a valuable one or one precious to you, leave the paper in place. If it didn't cost a lot and you really want to use a background with it, then go ahead, but with caution.

[oxypetalus]

Sensei and Takatsuki make some good points. Some paper can be removed easily with little to no damage to the cel/sketch if it's barely stuck. The method I described using water is one I reserve only for situations where the paper is blank and 100% stuck and it's not a terribly expensive/valuable cel. It works very well with removing rice paper. There are definitely situations where I opt to leave the paper stuck. Also, this method is not the only way to remove paper. I just wanted to share the method I personally have used. I'm no expert though... Please research and proceed with caution.