Three Tips For Storing Paintings

Your favorite paintings can add character and sophistication to your home or business. However, there may come a day when you need to place the artwork into storage. When this need arises, it is important for you to take some precautions to ensure that the artwork survives its time in storage without suffering damages. However, if you have never stored artwork, you may be unsure of what this entails, but if you follow these three tips, you should help to avoid some of the more common causes of damages.

Wrap Or Encapsulate The Artwork

Prior to placing the artwork into storage, you should make sure to protect it against moisture, dust, and insects. To this end, some people may make the mistake of opting to wrap the paintings in plastic bubble wrap. However, bubble wrap can trap moisture, which can damage your painting. As an alternative, you should opt to use cloth to protect your paintings because the cloth will absorb any condensation that may form before it can damage the painting.

If you are wanting more protection than a piece of cloth can provide, you should consider having the artwork encapsulated. During this process, a painting is encased in a protective clear case. This case will allow you to still be able to clearly see the artwork while preventing scratches and other forms of physical damage. Additionally, the cases used for this work are designed to be airtight, which will allow the technician to create a vacuum for the artwork. This will help to further reduce the risk of moisture damage occurring.

Store The Work In A Climate Controlled Area

While wrapping artwork in cloth or having it encapsulated can be highly effective ways of protecting the artwork from moisture damage, this is not the only threat that can damage paintings. Extreme temperatures can cause the canvas to become brittle or it may cause the paint to start peeling away. In order to avoid this type of damage, you will need to make sure to invest in a climate controlled storage unit. While these units can be more expensive than traditional storage, the ability to control the temperature or humidity can be worth far more than this cost.

Avoid Leaning Paintings Directly Against Each Other Or Pieces Of Furniture

When you are placing your paintings into storage, you should make sure to avoid stacking them against each other or pieces of furniture as this can warp the canvas. To avoid this type of damage, you should make sure to lean the paintings against the wall while placing a thick piece of cardboard between each one. The cardboard will help to cushion and evenly distributed the weight of the paintings, which can help to avoid potentially severe warping.

For more information about storage units, check with companies like All American Mini Storage.