I build a specialized type of furniture that allows me to ship it broken down; to be assembled by the customer. Most of my furniture is done in a rubbed-out ultra high gloss. I use Target Coatings waterborne gloss lacquer and do the final rub-out with Menzerna polishes. I am able to get a mirror finish with my process. After the final polish, I place each individual piece in a foam sleeve/pouch, then place it in the box. There are many layers of protection between the individual pieces within the box.
What happens is that when the furniture arrives to the customer, the gloss finish has been slightly abraded. If my original rubbed-out finish is a gloss of 99, and a semi-gloss is 88, the finish after shipping is maybe a 94. Obviously, the foam sleeves are slightly abrasive. My satin and semi-gloss finishes are not affected. I haven't had any complaints yet, and the only way I know this is happening is when I ship to myself at a trade show and unpack my pieces. Sooner or later someone is going to complain, so I want to nip this is the bud now.
My question is: does anybody know of a good film wrap or a softer non-abrasive sleeve that could be used as an interface between the finish and the foam protective layer? I have noticed that a very high-end speaker company from Denmark, which does gloss finishes on their products, wrap them in a soft material made from recycled something or other, but that material/product doesn't seem to be available in the USA. I have searched the internet high and low for a solution, but have found none so far. Uline has been no help.
Any ideas or help will be greatly appreciated.
From contributor ay
have you tried polythene foam? You may also use soft cotton material like bath Towels....
From contributor Ja
You can wrap the piece of furniture in a blanket pad. It will provide extra protection to the furniture. For more information about furniture packaging, you can use this link
http://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/movefurn.html
From contributor Ia
I ship rubbed out high gloss finishes and always cover in white 100% cotton tea-shirt material, then over the top of this with foam. I have had no problems so far and always make sure I get feedback to ensure the finish is good. Seems a shame that a lot of work is put into the finish for it to be marked by the material that is supposed to protest it.
Ian
