Fine Art Movers Can Relocate Your Artistic Treasures
Got some artwork you have to move but don’t want to attempt it yourself? Wise idea. You spent a lot of money on those artistic treasures so it’s understandable that you would want to hire professional movers to handle that task. The first step is to choose a moving company that specializes in fine art moves.
Then, you will be assured that the proper equipment, supplies and techniques will be applied to your artwork, ensuring it gets to its destination unscathed. It’s definitely not an easy job to do on your own – not if you want your valuables to reach the new home safely! Sure, you could pack things up yourself with a few friends, but it takes a lot more than just throwing art in a box and putting it on the truck.
This packing and transport job takes special knowledge and skills, backed by professional equipment proven to seamlessly move heavy objects ranging from vintage furniture pieces and sculptures to grand pianos and oil paintings. Secure art packing is something that comes from many years of dedicated experience, and something you should make sure your mover is skilled in – especially for long-distance moves.
And if you need to store it in the meantime, you want assurances that the storage units your moving company chooses are climate controlled and secured. Follow these tips to make sure your art and antiques are packed and transported as safely and securely as possible.
1. Come Up With a Plan
Careful planning is vital to any relocation, so begin the planning phase as early as possible. This starts with creating a plan and taking stock of what you have. Go through each piece to determine the measurements, materials, dimensions, and weight of all items you plan to move. Creating a detailed inventory not only helps you keep track of what you have but it also provides documentation of your art pieces for the insurance company should anything get damaged or lost in transit. Knowing the measurements and dimensions will also help you select the proper mode of transport. For very valuable artwork, you may consider having an appraisal done beforehand.
2. Choose High-Quality Packing Materials
Protecting your valuable artwork will take lots of high-quality materials and packing supplies. Your packing job will only be as good as the supplies you choose, so choose wisely. If you’re unsure what to pick up for the task, ask your movers. They can suggest the right boxes and other supplies, or you may be able to purchase supplies directly through them. If you hire them for art moves, they will bring all the supplies and pack up your art for you for an extra fee.
It’s best to use recycled materials for packing artwork, such as acid-free glassine paper and eco-friendly packing peanuts to provide the highest form of protection.
When packing your more fragile pieces, utilize a double boxing technique. Put the artwork in one box, then nestle into another, larger, one.
3. Try Custom Crating
Boxes can only provide so much protection. By using a hard-shelled protective casing such as wooden crates, your large paintings and sculptures will enjoy the highest level of protection. If you’re planning to store your artwork in between moves, you can purchase a custom made climate-controlled crate to protect your most sensitive artwork.
4. Protect Framed Pieces
When packing up artwork with glass frames, place two pieces of masking tape over the glass, stretching from corner to corner. This will keep the glass from shattering and scratching the artwork if broken in transit. Then, put protectors around the corners, wrapping it in packing paper. Finally, place the artwork between two pieces of cardboard, then wrap in bubble wrap. Place securely into the appropriate size box.
5. Protect Paint on Unframed Art
For artwork without glass, you’ll have to go to greater lengths to protect the exposed canvas. Don’t cover directly with bubble wrap because the plastic will stick to the paint, particularly if you plan to store it for the long term. Instead, place a layer of glassine over the canvas, which is transparent and acid-free. Lay the glassine down, then gently lower the artwork face down on the paper, securing with tape. Now, it’s safe to use bubble wrap as a final later before you place it in the box and seal it up. Don’t pack multiple pieces of canvas artwork together and don’t place one on top of the other.
6. Locate Secure, Climate-Controlled Storage
Sometimes, you have gaps in between moving out of one home and into the next. For that, you can’t just store artwork in your car or at a friend’s house. You need safe, secure, climate controlled storage to keep humidity levels down. This is because moisture can cause untold amounts of damage to delicate artwork, especially paintings.
Artwork is sensitive to:
- Rapid temperature changes
- Extreme temperatures
- Changing humidity levels
- Direct sunlight
- Moisture
The ideal condition for artwork is to keep the surrounding environment at a relative humidity level of between 25 and 65 percent.
In addition, the storage unit you select should have security and alarm systems, and preferably 24/7 monitored facilities.
7. Label Everything
To ensure you remember what’s in each box or crate, label everything in detail with a permanent marker. Put your name on the boxes as well as the rooms they should be placed into by the movers upon arrival at the new house. Mark “fragile” so the movers know which packaging contains your valuable artwork.
Contact Luke’s Moving
If you are a collector of fine arts and want the utmost protection for those items and more, we can help here at Luke’s. We specialize in antique and art moves, so you can hire us with confidence any day of the week. Contact us today for a free quote in Dallas at 817-752-9366.
