1.
Wear white cotton gloves If you wear white cotton gloves while handling paintings, you're going to minimise the chance of dirt and fingerprints getting on to your painting.
It can be a bit more fidgety and time-consuming handling paintings when wearing gloves, but it's worth it because your painting, which you've put lots of hard work into, won't be ruined by a few minor things that could have been avoided.
To be on the safe side, make sure your hands are clean.
Before putting on your gloves, give your hands a good wash and make sure they're completely dry.
2.
Don't wear watches or jewellery If you're wearing a watch or a piece of jewellery while handling your paintings, there's a good chance of something accidentally scratching the painting while it's being handled.
This can be avoided: simply make sure you're not wearing anything at all on your arms, hands or fingers that could cause damage, no matter how small the object is.
Even if you're wearing a ring, you should take it off while handling your paintings just in case it catches the painted surface and causes damage.
3.
Handle paintings one at a time If you need to move more than one painting, you could very well be tempted to move a few at the same time.
This is strongly discouraged, because handling more than one painting at a time increases the chance of damage being done to the paintings.
The more paintings you're moving, the more weight there is - if you're moving paintings in stacks, for example, the combined weight can damage the paintings because there's more of a chance of the painting getting scratched or the frame getting knocked.
Carry only one painting at a time; if it's a particularly large painting, have two people carry it.
4.
Carry paintings the correct way First of all, you should try your best to avoid touching the painted surface, even if you're wearing gloves.
Don't lift a painting from the top; place one hand on each side of the painting and lift it that way.
When carrying a painting, make sure it's kept in a vertical position and that you keep it as far away from your body as possible in order to minimise the chance of it coming into contact with you.
You should never carry a painting by its hanging wire - always carry it by the sides.