Well, here's a before and after pic. If I shrunk
the pics any, then most of the spots on the scan
disappear, so please be patient.
Left: Before, Right: After
(Note: I couldn't quite get all the areas due to
the way certain layers were stuck to each other.)
As you can see, most of the spots are gone.
Although cloudiness is easiest to see over
characters, if you look close enough, you can see
most of the spots are gone from the background
areas as well.
Since this cel had 5 layers, there were 10
surfaces to clean. First, I used mineral oil
(NOT MINERAL ***SPIRITS***) to dissolve the
spots; then I wiped off the excess. Mineral oil
leaves a greasy residue, so then I went over the
surface with soapy water and wiped off the
excess. Soap itself can leave a residue, so then
I went over the surface with just water. Wiped
the water off immediately afterwards with a photo
cloth to prevent warping. Repeated for each
additional surface. (This cel took 3-4 hours to
do.) Of course, it's impossible to get certain
areas or entire layers due to way cel layers get
stuck.
In a nutshell, 1) mineral oil, 2) soapy water,
and 3) water. Any long term effects from the
cleaning? I've done this with several cels
before. Now looking at the first one I cleaned
this way, I haven't seen any problems after half
a year's time. No warping or anything.
For people who want to attempt this, experiment
on a cheap one-layer cel first. I'd try the Zero
Ryoko BG cel I have next, but the way the layers
are stuck, I wouldn't be able to do much except
the very front and the back of the cel setup.
Oh, as for airbrushed layers, avoid cleaning both
the front and back of the airbrushed areas just
to be on the safe side. Later. |