Firstly, the cleaner I'm talking about is this:
http://www.amazon.com/NOVUS-7100-Plasti ... 002UCYRZU/
It's a universal plastic polisher, often used on small windshields and CDs/DVDs.
Novus 1 is strictly a cleaning/polisher; it doesn't really fix scratches.
Novus 2 fixes fine scratches.
Novus 3 is essentially liquid sandpaper that takes out the large stuff.
I grabbed a junk cel (The cat thing from Daa Daa Daa volenteered
) and began testing.WARNING: POTENTIAL SEVERE CEL DAMAGE. I know nothing about the long term effects of these chemicals; likewise, I am not a cel expert. I'm hoping this is useful, but realize ANY chemical placed on a cel can cause harm. Don't use these on priceless cels!
If unsure. DON'T.
Test Prep:
The cel was already in perfect condition, so I rubbed both sides against paper, another cel, dust and another cel, a knife, and a brick wall; I figured this would decently emulate the worst case scenario of a poorly kept cel. The hard lines are deep slices from a knife.
From here, I started using Novus. Note: I didn't polish the left half of the cel for comparison purposes.
Here's the cel before any cleaning. The cel's background is an Itoya black paper insert. There isn't any dirt on the cel; it's all scratches.
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The more you apply this stuff, the better it gets; I did another round of Novus 2 and Novus 1:
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Finally, I went to Novus 3, followed by another round of Novus 2 and 1. Note: I only did Novus 3 in the bottom right corner; I was getting tired...
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- stage4b_2.jpg (89.64 KiB) Viewed 435 times
General:
Since cels are transparent, you need to do any step to both sides. This means you'll be handling your cel a lot; this becomes an issue with Novus 2 and 3.
Note the raw motion traceline on the right side; it fades away a little more each cleaning step.
Polish-specific:
Novus 1:
Very gentle. Sprayed and buffed directly on paint/lines without any issues; it does the same damage as water or less. Not much else to say; pretty happy with it. Not sure if it offers any benefit over something like distilled water and baking soda. Kinda feels like it leaves a coating, but it may just be the feel of polish.
Novus 2:
Does fix scratches. However, the application process is rough. Once you decide to use this, it's a "Point of no return". You pour it on the spot you want to clean, let it dry, and then gently scrape off the excess with a lint-free rag. On the test cel, this wasn't really an issue; however, if you have lots of small paint areas...not fun. Should be noted that where I made a deep slice with the knife, the cel started tearing during this process.
Novus 3:
Based on chemical composition, this is liquid aluminum oxide (AKA sandpaper). As such, the more you rub, the more you polish and remove scratches. Designed to followed up with 2 and 1.
Novus 2 and 3 both removed raw tracelines not protected by paint; I'd expect that though. It took several passes to completely remove a line though.
None of these chemicals caused any reaction with the cel or paint. I didn't carefully apply anything (Novus 2 and 3 really can't), and the paint held fine.
Ultimate recommendations:
Again, take caution--experiment yourself before following any advice. If you're new to cel collecting you should probably avoid these unless you're feeling really adventurous.
In general, you're probably better off avoiding these and using standard cel procedures; none of these are magic cel-fixing panaceas.
That said, all 3 don't present immediate danger to a cel. Novus 2 and 3 are minimally destructive considering they are trying to remove scratches; I was impressed. For reference, Novus 1 is a mild chemical mix, Novus 2 is essentially Silica, and Novus 3 is Aluminum Oxide sandpaper. None are acetone/alcohol/ammonia based. (Novus 1 does have trace alcohol, although not enough to do damage). Novus' has the chemical composition in their safety sheets on their website if you're curious.
Novus 1 makes for a decent cel cleaner. If you have a dirty cel and need something stronger than water, this works okay. I'm still running long-term tests. Novus 1 is a must for cleaning up the remains of 2 and 3.
If you have a really beat up cel, Novus 2 and 3 can work some magic. If you repeat the Novus 3->2->1 process multiple times, I imagine you could fix most any damage. However, the buffing/scraping process (it sounds rougher than it really is) to both sides makes for a ton of cel handling and pressing. I'd only recommend this if you're ready to lose the cel or if you feel really adventurous. Definitely practice first.
For the record, I have only used Novus 1 on one cel I actually cared about. I have a multi-cel setup I might experiment with if I get brave...
There's probably some details I forgot; feel free to ask questions