Making Picture Frame Corner Protectors

When you’re shipping, moving or storing framed artwork, protecting the corners of the frame from damage may protect the whole frame, glass, and photograph, print or painting. A knock to your corner could shatter or crack glass or disfigure the framework, perhaps puncturing or tearing the artwork inside it. Corner protectors are affordable, and also easy to make if you chance to get caught short on going day — or so the deadline for the gallery show is upon you and the artwork handler is arriving momentarily to pick up your own masterpiece.

Cardboard Corners

Gather together the framework to be shielded, a sheet of cardboard, a craft knife or straightedge, a non-serrated knife, a ruler and a pencil. Trace around one corner of the picture frame to set up the right angle and the size. Cut a triangle template from the tracing. Measure the depth of the framework. Your corner guard will utilize three flux shapes along with three strips as wide as the frame depth, all connected in one scored and folded unit. You may draw a pattern which folds in on itself around the framework and secures with one bit of tape, and, should youn’t enjoy figuring out puzzles as you go, you may download easy-to-follow online templates to reproduce.

Bubble Wrap Corners

For a more straightforward but less organized corner guard, take bubble wrap and tape and cushion the corners of the frame. Simply cut a small strip of bubble wrap, fold it over the corners, front to back, and pull on the additional wrap above the corner stage of the framework before taping the loose ends together on the back of the framework. Wind long strips of bubble wrap around the frame once you wrap on the corners, to hold the corner cushions in place and give additional cushioning to the whole frame.

Foam and Fragile Frames

Corner protectors may be cut out from Styrofoam or delicate foam to custom-cling into frames. Polyethylene foam is that the material widely used for corner protection, since it gives but is also stiff enough to withstand an excessive amount of compression when jostled during a transfer. Very delicate or old frames need special handling and may require consultation with a conservator. Gilt is fragile and may “melt” in touch with moisture, crack and flake when banged or vibrated, and degrade and require restoration. If possible, consider laying a gilt frame flat on a foam-covered part of plywood, stabilized in place — on a dolly or in a vehicle — to prevent shifting. Cover the framework lightly with a clean soft fabric — or even leave it discovered — and hand-deliver it into its new location. Safeguard an irreplaceable piece which can’t be easily hand-transported by selecting professional licensed and bonded art movers.

Necessary Precautions

The Institute of Conservation cautions that corner guards and other safeguards are only part of protected moving procedures for framed artwork. Use corner protectors made from cardboard, bubble wrap or foam, but eliminate them when the object reaches its destination. Protective coverings may trap moisture, and packing materials can deteriorate and damage a valuable frame or painting. Any tape you use to secure corners should never touch any part of the framework or backing. When movers will handle a large framed piece, it may make sense to utilize corner guards and wrap the whole frame in transparent plastic so they can find where to grip it and always be aware of what they’re moving.