Cleaning cels

bulma_gt · Post by **bulma_gt** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:44 pm

I was wondering how I can clean some cels that look dirty, like this one

http://bulmaskingdom.rubberslug.com/gal ... temID=2191

Usually it's on cels with several layers, but I also have cels with the sketch stuck and the cel also looks dirty. Is it recommendable to do it with a piece of cotton wet with alcohol? what do you guys recommend?

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:16 pm

A very small amount of alcohol on a cotton ball will be perfect for cleaning the front side of the cel. However you need to be very careful because sometimes cels have correction lines and paint on the front side of the cels. These can be easily seen if you tilt your cel at an angle in the light. Also, if there is a small area that you can't clean with the cottonball then use a cotton swab (aka: q-tip). IF you need to clean the backside of the cel make sure you DO NOT get any alcohol near the painted areas! It will disolve the paint.

I've always cleaned my cels like this carefully and never had any damage or problems. Other people may have their own prefered cleaning methods too.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:21 pm

Oh, I forgot to mention that if you are looking to clean the cel for display purposes, such as for your gallery, then I highly recommend using a paint program such as Photoshop if you have one to touch up on the scan. I have several cels that are dirty looking but it would be hard to clean them with the alcohol due to them having multiple layers or being stuck to the background. So I take the scan and clean it up with photoshop before adding it to my Rubberslug gallery.

bulma_gt · Post by **bulma_gt** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:24 pm

Thanks! and that's a great idea, cleaning the cel with photoshop or other graphic program.... because as you said I wanted to clean them so they can look better in my gallery, I think I'd do that

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:39 pm

I also forgot to add, lol, that when I clean up the scan in photoshop I just use the 'clone stamp' and I make any needed adjustments to the levels for the scan.

bulma_gt · Post by **bulma_gt** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:41 pm

are you sure you didn't forget to add anything else?

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:54 pm

Here's an animated gif for your enjoyment, lol!

majinuub · Post by **majinuub** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:46 pm

Sugarflower wrote:Here's an animated gif for your enjoyment, lol!

bulma_gt · Post by **bulma_gt** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:11 am

RoboFlonne · Post by **RoboFlonne** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:05 am

Micro Fiber cloth?

klet · Post by **klet** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:46 pm

If you do use alcohol, don't get near the trace lines!!! It can dissolve them if the alcohol is a strong enough concentration, so just steer clear of them.

Actually, I'd stick with water for minor cleaning, and only move to alcohol if you've got some really stubborn dirt. I've only every used alcohol to get tape gunk off my cels.

buma · Post by **buma** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:55 am

um, doesn't regular water also disolve the paint on the back of the cels too? Or am I just remembering that wrong??

bulma_gt · Post by **bulma_gt** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:42 pm

First I tried water but didn't work because as Klet said, this is 'stubborn dirt'. Mainly from cels with too many layers or cels that are too old.

Thanks everybody for your advices

klet · Post by **klet** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:21 pm

buma wrote:um, doesn't regular water also disolve the paint on the back of the cels too? Or am I just remembering that wrong??

No, regular water is fine. Actually, it's probably best to use distilled water, as ordinary tap water does have minerals in it that could possibly scratch your cels (that being said, I've always used regular tap water

). I've heard from other cel collectors that before the cels are actually filmed, they're wiped down with a soft cloth and some water to remove any fingerprints, dust, etc. Wouldn't want that showing up on-screen.

Water won't do anything to the paint, but please, please, don't use water or anything on any airbrushing!!! Airbrushing (usually used for stuff like blushing and ki effects) is very, very delicate, and any touching or liquids will rub it right off.

bulma_gt, what looks like dirt on your cels might just be scratches. Cel can get scratches on them from rubbing against backgrounds, other layers, etc. There's no do-it-yourself method for getting rid of cel scratches.

I doubt professionals could get rid of them, either.

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:18 pm

Hi,

I actually purchased cel cleaning cleaners from a site a while ago, I don't remember the name though, I do remember I had to wait about 8 weeks for it to be ordered though, anyway, The stuff is called Tend anit-static cleaner and it works amazingly well. I personally would never use Alcohol to clean my cels due to the fact the aroma remains for quite a while after cleaning and I have heard that the alchol leaves a residue on the actate. Anyways, just thought I would share.