If you are about to move soon it can be really stressful just thinking about all the tasks. Moving your fine art pieces can be a real challenge. If you hire a reliable moving company they will do all the work for you. If you prefer to do it yourself you need to prepare well to pack and safely move your fine art. Here are some tips that can be helpful.
Prepare to safely move your fine art
Whether you are moving a few blocks away or to another country, you need to make a good plan especially when you need to move some fine art pieces. You will be needing a lot of packing supplies. Before you buy and start packing your artworks you should check how to treat certain items because you can’t pack in the same way framed and unframed paintings, vases, or sculptures. So, before you start packing, check everything. Firstly you need to gather all the packing supplies. You will be needing:
- gloves to pack and safely move your fine art
- tape gun
- artist tape
- pair of scissors or Exacto knife
- glassine
- foam boards
- cardboard boxes or a crate
- foam or a blanket
- bubble bags
If you have appropriate packing supplies it will be much easier to preserve your artworks and prevent damage. You will need a lot of concentration and steady hands. Make no mistake, packing artwork is a delicate and important job. For these especially valuable items, it may be best to hire a professional moving company to handle the packing and transportation for you. They will make sure everything is properly packed and efficiently.
Framed and unframed art
You should find a box or build a crate. If you saved the original boxes that the items arrived in, you should use this. If the artwork is particularly large, it would be good to find an appropriate size crate to hold the item. It would be much better to wrap your art and mirrors in Glassine, instead of the typical plastic wrap. This should properly protect anything from blemishing the fine art, print, or glass. Use wider artist tape and make an ”X” across the glass so it doesn’t get broken. Do not forget about the corners. Corners of framed art and mirrors are particularly vulnerable to scratches. You can add cardboard corners to prevent damage.
When it comes to unframed art pieces make sure you do not touch them with bare hands, instead, you can use gloves. Wrap your piece in glassine. Glassine is a smooth paper that is air, water, and grease resistant. You can protect the edges with a few layers of cardboard and in the end secure them with tape. Do not use duct tape, use the artist tape.
Pack and move your sculptures
Use a bubble bag to wrap the entire sculpture and a vase. Then secure it with the tape. You should do the same with the bottom of the sculpture. You can put these items into a cardboard box or a carte. If it is a much bigger box, you can fill the box with the shredded paper. Make a hole in the middle of the paper and put the sculpture in, then add the rest of the shredded paper to cover the item. Secure the box with the packing tape. Do not forget to label the box as fragile. In order to save some space, you can try fitting a few items in the box. If you do this ensure there are more bubble bags between the items.
If you’re moving heavy antique furniture, you will be needing help. You can call your friend or search for residential movers NY residents usually recommend and hire. Don’t try and lift heavy pieces by yourself. You’ll risk scratching and damaging the antiques. If the furniture is large, you should disassemble it first. It will be much easier to pack it. When it comes to packing, like for all other valuable items you will be needing a lot of bubble bags to wrap the entire item. You can add a layer of moving blanket and secure everything with the tape.
Common mistakes when you pack fine art pieces
Start the packing and moving without a plan can be a huge mistake. No matter if you have some artworks in your possession or not, always make a good plan. Next important thing is to buy appropriate packing supplies of good quality. Do not let the stretch wrap or a bubble bag touch directly the surface of a painting. Always put the glassine first. Packing materials can be very pricey but if you want to protect your valuable items and move them safely you should invest in packing supplies, especially boxes and crates. If you are planning to store your items, it is especially important to pack them properly. But also you should rent a clean, secure, and climate-controlled storage unit.
One of the mistakes is that sometimes people tend to pack the artwork first. That means they will stay for too long in the moving van and you will only add boxes on top of them. So, make sure you pack your fine art last. As already said it is not easy to pack these items so you can search on the internet and find the moving company that can help you. Reliable movers are trained for packing and moving these items.
How to safely move your fine art
You have here some instructions to pack and move your fine art pieces. If you have packed them properly you should not worry about the possibility of damage during the move. Make sure you load the moving truck carefully. Use the space in the moving truck strategically, and do not overload it. Also, you should not stack items one on another. It can cause damage.
It is really challenging to safely move your fine art. Pay more attention when packing and carrying these items than all the others. Hope these tips will be helpful. Good luck!
