How to Prepare Your Artwork for Long Term Storage

It's impossible for many people to display all of the artwork they have at any one time, whether it's children's drawings, framed paintings, or even simply photographs. As a result, you might need to put these personal treasures into long term storage until you have room for them again. Follow these steps in order to make sure that your artwork is fully protected and is ready for long term storage.

1. Clean Up the Artwork

If you're just worried about storing crayon drawings, then all you need to do is make that you brush off any dust that might be on the paper and seal them in an envelope before any more dust gets on them. If you're storing canvas artwork, then you're going to need to take a dry microfiber cloth and gently rub off any dust and dirt that's on the paint itself, being careful not to dislodge any of the paint. For framed photographs or other artwork, take a wood cleaner or a plastic cleaner, depending on what the frame is made out of and make sure that you remove any dirt and make the frame shine.

2. Protect the Artwork

Next, you're going to want to make sure that you protect the artwork. If you are protecting loose sketches, prints, or crayon drawings that have all been stored in envelopes, put all of the loose artwork in a pile and then put a piece of cardboard on either side of the artwork. Rubber band the two pieces of the cardboard. This will prevent any of your artwork from being bent or crumpled up while it is being stored.

If you're dealing with framed artwork, put a cardboard corner on each of the corners of the frame in order to keep them from getting dinged up. Make sure that you tape the corners down to keep them from shifting around. Cover the frame with something soft, such as an old blanket or bubble wrap. Make sure that you cover both sides. Then, put the entire thing in a plastic bag and seal the bag in order to keep moisture from getting in. When you put frames in the storage unit, don't stack then on top of each other because they can collapse under their own weight.

If you're protecting unframed canvases, you will need to wrap them first in glassine, which is a packing material that is resistant to both air and water. Put each piece of artwork in between two pieces of foam so that it doesn't accidentally bend. Finally, put the foam and artwork into a plastic bag to keep water from getting in. Then, put the entire piece of artwork into a box so that it lies flat.

For more information on how to pack your artwork up without damaging it, talk to a long term storage site like U S Storage Inc.

Share