How-To Pack, Store, and Move Paintings
Reno Gulch Self Storage
March 27th, 2023
Few things are as special and rewarding as owning a painting. It doesn’t matter if it’s something that is historic and hundreds of years old or an original piece that a close family friend or child made for you. No matter what it is, owning a painting is a great way to add personality, color, and a good energy to your home.
But paintings are very fragile, especially if you own an original piece. If you are the proud owner of a painting, then you need to go to great lengths to ensure they are safe at all times.
Did you know that if you keep your house too warm you can damage a painting? If you don’t hang it correctly, you can also create a disaster for your art. And when you are moving, the chances of hurting your paintings are shockingly high. There is no better way to mess up a piece of artwork than by packing and moving it incorrectly.
If you happen to own a painting and are about to move to a new home then you need to be sure that you are packing, moving, and storing your art the right way. If you don’t follow these steps correctly then you are opening yourself up to losing the paintings that you hold so near and dear to your heart.
The Risks of Moving
When you are moving to a new place, you want to take your paintings with you. But there are extra risks that will arise during this process. How can improper moving, packing, and storing damage your paintings? Sadly, there are quite a few ways that this can impact your artwork.
The biggest threats to paintings and any type of artwork include:
● Loose elements in the art
● Stains
● Breakages, smudges, bends, and other forms of impacts
● Fingerprints that won’t come out
All these types of damage can be instantly noticeable and, sadly, some are impossible to reverse. That means that if you happen to hurt your paintings with one of these mishaps, you might not ever get it back into the right and perfect condition.
How to Pack, Move, And Store Your Paintings For Your Move
When it is time for you to start your journey to your new location, here are the things you should keep in mind when you are packing and moving your precious pieces of art.
Minimize Your Contact
The biggest and most important thing you should do when packing up and moving your paintings is to avoid contact as much as possible.
You should always be creating a barrier between yourself and the painting. This starts with something as simple as always wearing gloves and also includes wrapping your art in soft and top-quality materials that will prevent scratches, bumped, and nicks to the work.
If you are moving, you should have just one person tasked with handling the paintings. When more people get involved with wrapping and packing the art, you have more chances of damage.
Wrap In Plastic
When you are wrapping your art, you should make sure that you do it in a solid and strong and high-quality solid sheet of plastic. You can find this one-of-a-kind plastic in many locations, specifically art stores.
This plastic will make sure that your painting remains protected but also remains clean too. Moving trucks and boxes tend to be a bit dirty and dusty and you do not want that debris to find its way onto your paintings. The plastic will prevent that from happening.
Use Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a must-have when you are moving, especially if you are packing up painting. Once your painting is wrapped in plastic, you should then put an extra layer of Styrofoam around it too. This will make sure that the painting is safe and snug and can withstand sitting with other pieces of art in a box. Styrofoam also means that if the truck hits a few bumps in the road, the paintings will always remain safe.
Don’t Forget Packing Material
You don’t want to pack your boxes too tightly when you are moving paintings. Instead, you should be sure to fill up any extra space with bubble wrap or packing peanuts. This will give your paintings space to be comfortable but will also ensure that they won’t move around too much and run the risk of getting scratched up or damaged.
The actual act of moving your paintings is the most dangerous part of the whole process. Bumps in the road, bad driving, and shifts inside the box can all rack up a lot of destruction inside your moving boxes. You may open your boxes and find that your paintings look very different than they did.
But with the right packing materials, you will rest easy knowing that your artwork is safe and can even survive truck drivers who are a bit wild on the road.
Storing Paintings
Moving to a new home can be a long process and there might be times when your paintings and artwork make a stop at a storage unit or third location before they arrive.
If you need to store your paintings for some time before you unload them at a new home, there are certain things to keep in mind. Firstly, you should be sure that you only keep them in a space that is climate-controlled. The biggest risk to paintings is humidity and the wrong temperature can spell certain doom for artwork.
You should also take extra steps to make sure that your paintings are stored in a comfortable and safe position. Since you may not be checking on them often, you don’t want them to fall over and inflict damage while you are away.
When you are unpacking your paintings, you want to follow a procedure that is very similar to the way you packed them. Wear gloves, move slowly, and be very sure that you unwrap each piece of artwork at a safe space, especially if there is any sort of tape or adhesive on your paintings.
Reno Gulch Self Storage provides safe storage for paintings in Hill City, South Dakota. Contact us at (605) 574-2106 or reserve a unit online. We look forward to hearing from you!