Three Pitfalls To Avoid When Moving A Valuable Painting

Whether your painting has a high monetary or sentimental value, it's important to minimize the risk of anything bad happening to it during your move. However, because of their unique properties, it's easy to cause damage to paintings without even realizing it. Before starting on your move, don't forget to go over these three common pitfalls with moving a valuable painting.

Wrapping The Painting Directly In Newsprint Or Packing Paper

Since it's so easy to scratch or otherwise tarnish the surface of a painting, you might think it a good idea to cover it with a heavy layer of newsprint or packing paper. But while this paper will provide some protection from scratches, the gradual corrosion caused by continual contact with the surface of the painting is a far worse problem.

Instead, find a big box or crate that can harbor your painting on its own. This way, the painting can be protected from suddenly brushing up against other objects during the move.

Not Firmly Attaching The Painting To One Side Of A Box Or Crate

Of course, any union between your painting and a box or crate that involves lots of paper is going to be more trouble than it's worth. But there are certainly ways to profitably attach a painting to a surface so that the risk of tumbling around in a small area as a result of rough handling is minimized.

One such way is through a judicious use of duct tape applied over the four corners of your painting's frame. While this will lead to an unavoidable amount of wear and tear on your frame, this usually isn't nearly as serious as damage to an actual painting.

Not Letting Movers Know What's In The Final Package

Even if the box or crate containing your painting is marked "fragile," most people will have a hard time correctly guessing its contents. Therefore, to avoid any unnecessary sudden movements while getting your painting into position for the move, it's important to let the movers know exactly what they're dealing with.

Even a good job with duct tape can be completely undone if the box is held with the painting side facing down for too long. So in addition to informing the movers, it might even be a good idea to specifically mark on the package what direction should be placed on the ground.

Once a painting is damaged, it'll be extremely difficult or even impossible to repair it. So before the worst happens, do all you can to prevent even a small amount of trouble with your painting during your move. Contact a reputable moving company like Swain Moving & Storage Ltd for more tips.