Treasured Family portraits damaged during shipping. Can they be cleaned? Can the frames be fixed? Helpful info and tips for shipping damage of collectibles and memorabilia.

1. Family Portrait Damage in Shipping:
Disaster with liquid detergent
By Arianna Spiller, FACL Intern
When the wife packed up her family portraits and collectibles for their move across
country, she thought she had done a good job. Her company was moving them and
though they packed up the rest of the house, she was uneasy about letting them handle
her treasured items. Some of these heirlooms were the portraits done by her father when
she was a teenager, which happened to be some of the only keepsakes she had of him.
Despite her care in packing, however, she was unable to control where these items were
placed, and how they were placed, inside of the moving truck. During the shipping an
open box containing liquid detergent overturned and poured into the package of two
paintings and their frames.
Opening up the box containing such treasures family items only to see that they had been
doused in green goo was undoubtedly devastating. In fact, she was so upset, she couldn’t
stand to see them and did nothing! After this incident happened the owner let some time
elapse. Also in her upset state of mind, she had never thought to check with the fine art
insurance of the shipper or the insurance company of her new employer to cover the

2. $6000 worth of damage done to the two paintings and the two frames. Unfortunately,
eventually in order to keep these treasures, she had to pay for a mistake that was not
necessarily her fault.
Luckily, the paintings themselves had a good, strong layer of varnish over the paint. This
helped prevent the detergent and paint from interacting which would have made it almost
impossible to clean the paintings of the detergent without disturbing the paint. After
FACL cleaned the paintings, they were re-varnished. FACL was able to restore the
paintings back to their “pre-existing condition” without significant damage.
The frames, however, were not as
lucky. The finishes on them did not
allow for the removal of the
detergents and stains. Therefore, in
order to restore the frames and bring
them back to “pre-existing condition”
they will have to be re-finished.
The shipping damage of heirlooms can be prevented entirely if the proper precautions are
taken in the first place. When moving an heirloom, or anything you would like to protect,
always make sure it is properly sealed and protected from any outside source. Some of
the common problems FACL sees in shipping damage is dirt and dust getting on the
items, water damage (and other liquids) and, of course, damage from getting banged
around (impact damage). Always get proper instruction for wrapping and packing
heirlooms. However, when moving collectibles along with other objects that could
potentially damage it, sealing is only part of the work. The proper placement of a
valuable when moving is important. Take precaution to not let any other potentially
dangerous items spill, bump or fall on your valuables. This involves placing a protective

3. barrier around the item, and not surrounding it with objects that could possibly hurt or
damage it.
If you are ever faced with a situation such as this one, where collectibles or heirlooms
have been ruined or are in need of fixing, the internet is a great place to do research, find
some help and do your due diligence. After searching the internet and reading blogs and
watching YouTube videos, she called Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, hoping that
FACL could restore them back to their “pre-existing condition” (an important insurance
term). Scott Haskins, head of conservation paid the owners a visit at their home and
inspected the items at no charge. After outlining the options and costs, the owner made
her decision and FACL picked up the two framed painting and will personally deliver
them back when the work is completed
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To learn more about what you can do at home to take care of your stuff, download now a copy of Scott
Haskins’ book, How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster at 50% off! CLICK HERE to know more:
http://saveyourstuffblog.com/products-supplies/
For a news article featuring Scott M. Haskins’, Click here:
http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/media-room/art-restorerconservator-scott-m-haskins-featured-in-
life-section-of-newspaper/
For art conservation and painting restoration questions call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 or
faclartdoc@gmail.com
For art appraisal questions call Richard Holgate at 805 895 5121 or jrholgate@yahoo.com
See short videos by Scott M. Haskins on art conservation related subjects at YouTube channel
“Bestartdoc” http://www.youtube.com/user/bestartdoc?feature=mhee
See short do-it-yourself videos on collection care and emergency preparedness for art collectors, family
history items, heirlooms, memorabilia at Youtube Channel “preservationcoach”
http://www.youtube.com/user/preservationcoach
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