Stuck Cels:How to unstick from sketches?

IT's always goes to be how much risk you are willing to take, it also depends on how stuck it is. I've had things that got stuck in transit because the seller did not separate them when they shipped. In that case a little tugging and it came loose. If the sketch has been stuck since the dawn of time and shellacked these methods won't work at all and will ruin the sketch. However over time paper will get more and more acetic and eventually ruin the cel it might not take too long, or it could take 20-30 years it depends on so many factors it is not worth mentioning. But as always it will come down to you as a collector/curator to make that choice.

If you are located in an area with a good physical cel location, I'd ask if a professional could do that for you. I am located in southern California, and the guy who runs a huge store in the area has a ton of experience removing cels from bgs/sketches. When I've purchased a cel from him, he will wiggle it around and unstick it from the sketch himself. I asked him if he must go around and unstick cels every once in a while to prevent permanent damage, but he responded that it had likely been stuck like that for over two decades before unsticking it just as I purchased it. I don't know if it is only for western animation productions though. (I'm still new to the various factors.) Also don't know if it's a service usually paid, but it would definitely be well worth it to not try yourself if possible.

Would you mind, sharing what store that is?

2017.12.05

Agreed. aurumastrum since you do not have a gallery no one can contact you directly. Do you mind posting the contact details for the business you referred to that provides the cel removal service? Thank you!

I've found if the cel is really old, i.e. mid-late 1980's, then it's best to leave it stuck, otherwise you could end up pulling the paint and/or some of the black outline away.