It’s a common practice to keep your paintings framed and covered with protective glass when they hang on the walls of your home, office, or private gallery. Yet, these works of art sometimes require shipping to another location, either for display at the exhibition or during your relocation to a new house. Whatever the case, you should approach shipping glass framed art with due regard to the fragility of its components and the added risks glass comes with. How can you arrange this process safely for your priceless property? We’ve compiled a couple of professional recommendations in this blog post.
Essentials of Shipping Glass Framed Art: Your 2024 Guide
The first thing you should always take care of is glass reinforcement. While a framed painting is relatively easy to ship, glass-covered paintings are at an increased risk of tearing and scratching in case glass breaks during transit. That’s why it is vital to cover the glass with mirror tape so that the layers of tape cross each other in the X-shape. This way, you will keep the glass together even if it breaks, thus minimizing the damage to your painting.
Second, corner protection is an important step in the packaging process. This measure is exceptionally significant if your frame is antique or extra-expensive; it will help guarantee the frame’s integrity and protection from bumps or chips.
Third comes the packaging of the whole painting. Use high-quality non-adhesive, acid-free materials as the first layer of protection. We traditionally use art plastic, glassine paper, or archival tissue paper for this purpose, as these materials are the safest for fine art.
Bubble wrap or kraft bubble should be used as the second layer of protection. Finally, the wrapped painting should be placed in a durable cardboard box or a wooden crate if it is transported internationally or by a regular carrier. Make sure to properly seal and label each box with a fragile painting inside.
Entrust Your Art to Professionals
If you’re a newbie in the sphere of shipping glass framed art, there’s no sense in taking chances and organizing the process on your own. It’s much wiser to turn to experienced art handlers who can do everything right and arrange comprehensive, safe packaging and transportation of your glass-covered paintings without costly errors. Fine Art Shippers will be happy to help and organize the entire procedure for you.