Safest way to store hand painted tinplate trains without damaging paint???

Bubble wrap is very bad for storing trains. The wrap can react with the paint and leave a pattern on the finish of your trains.

There are a number of ways to store your trains.

Some people use acid-free, archival quality tissue paper.

I use food grade plastic bags, left open so moisture isn't trapped.

If the piece is too long for one, then usually one on each end will cover it.

Then they are either boxed, or wrapped in newspaper over the plastic bag.

Over the years I have used boxes from Uline, baseball card storage boxes, and generic white boxes that are sold by Hobby Surplus Sales. Currently I have some of each on hand.

Some of my stuff has been boxed and put away for decades with no ill effect. Most of it is Postwar, but I do have some Lionel tin too.

FYI: Plastic will stick to both litho and paint over time, especially if exposed to temperature and humidity variations.

Also, tissue paper (even archival) will do the same thing.

Do not ever use bubble wrap for anything. The gasses released from inside the bubbles can do harm and the plastic will stick to paint and litho.

The following is what art museums use to store items.

Glassine

http://masterpak-usa.com/cat_201_glassine.htm

Archival quality Tyvek:

http://www.masterpak-usa.com/cat_206_tyveksoft.htm

(Yes, the same material as house insulation, but softer and without ink graphics.)

I have close friends in the art world who manage and ship museum collections. I have talked with them in depth about packing and shipping toy trains. Unfortunately, museum level packing techniques seem to be completely unknown to toy train collectors. When I go to York and see the high end dealers wrapping up early tinplate in newspaper it boggles my mind...

FYI: There are other new archival materials like Dartek clear plastic, but Tyvek or glassine may be easier and more cost effective.

Also, be aware that the toys will be effected by whatever you put in the box with them, like styrofoam peanuts or newspaper.

Cloth may sound like a good idea, but long term the toys will be exposed to whatever dyes or chemicals are in the cloth. Plus heat/humidity may make it stick just like paper.

Of course, conditions vary and exposure to materials depends upon how long they are in storage, heat, humidity, etc. Sometimes you can get lucky and wrap toys in newspaper, baby diapers or whatever and get away with it. But that one time the heat makes something stick to your 100 year old $1000 treasure...

Tyvek/glassine is a good investment as it can be reused.

Good luck,

Bert

Definitely do not ever use bubble wrap against the paint. I used the acid free paper like sold in drug or gift stores, then put them in sealed tubs like sold at Wally world. Mine survived 6 months in that type of storage without issue. I just unwrapped about 50 post war cars last night. I custom painted a set of F3 units and had wrapped them in a piece of old bed sheet before putting them in the tubs too. Everything looked great having been out in the garage where it had been quite cold during the winter.

Rob

Do not use bubble wrap directly against paint as over time it will bond with the paint and/or leave marks in the paint in the same pattern as the bubbles.  Rather, I recommend that you first wrap your trains in an acid-free tissue paper or a non-paper acid-free product like Tyvek and then roll them up in bubble wrap and place them within a strong cardboard or plastic box.

Bob Nelson      

I bought a pair of these a number of years ago 'cuz I liked the design that was left in the cars' paint. This is what happens when you wrap them in bubble wrap.

Ron M

Cheap, single layer dish cloths from the supermarket work well. get ones that are cotton with no napp/knap, or however it should be spelled.

and where the trains are stored is very important. heated or non heated, humid....etc

"Cheap, single layer dish cloths from the supermarket work well."

As I stated above, cloth may sound like a good idea, but long term the toys will be exposed to whatever dyes or chemicals are in the cloth, plus the cloth may stick just like paper.

No museum would ever use dish clothes.

LallyTrek,

Since you live in New Jersey. Follow the advice to use acid free paper. CW's recommendation to use the generic hobby boxes works great for O-Gauge pieces. For your larger pieces use whatever size boxes will fit. Use peanuts or the like to fill up the empty spaces.

Lastly because of your location I strongly recommend a controlled humidity and temperature controlled storage facility. I promise that you will not regret doing so.

My children placed all of my vintage prewar train sets in such a place. The cost is low for the peace of mind it offers. My collection is still covered by my insurance due to the 24/7 security provided by the facility . 

I only use white ones, but to each his own.

Gentlemen,

   If you can get MTH to sell you some of their internal wrapping/packaging material that they use on the Tin Plate Reproductions, it's about the best I have seen for storing Tin Plate in it's original boxes, make sure you store your Tin in a dry semi warm place, with low moisture for best results when storing for longevity.  

PCRR/Dave

FYI: White towels are bleached. Bleach is a chemical that can harm paint.

Also FYI: The plastic packing material MTH uses to pack new tinplate is not archival. I would not recommend it for antique painted or litho toys.

It's not rocket science.

Thanks folks. A lot of good info here. Good to know I wasn't just being paranoid about how to store them.

I found some acid-free tissue paper, couldn't find the glassine or tyvek in time, so the plan is to wrap them in the acid-free paper, then in bubble wrap and into a cardboard box. I'll be storing them in a friend's house in Connecticut for a couple of months. Not the basement and not the attic, so the temperature will be somewhat regulated. 

Should I be concerned with how loosely or tightly wrapped the paper is? Is there any concerns with using a bit of scotch tape to the paper to keep it wrapped? i can't think of any, but figured I'd check with the many years of experience here....

thanks again!

PLEASE don't wrap your hand painted tin in any paper/tyvek/glassine.  Many of these paints are soft and can still be marked by chemical means (Mr Nabisco is completely correct) but they can still be marked unfortunately by pressure from archival wrappings as well.

There is no perfect answer.... don't wrap them tight.  NEVER use bubblewrap...NEVER!  Just ball the paper and try and support non-painted surfaces where possible.

NEVER use tape either... the adhesive is organic in all likelihood and will off-gas. You can just use the paper layers to protect.

Obtain or construct a large box that is sealed. A metal footlocker works well. Obtain packets of moisture absorbant dissicant to place in the box. Then get some dry ice and place it in the box. The dry ice will displace the oxygen. Then put the top on. Replace the dissicant every couple of months. A dehumidified in the room helps immensely.

The option I've found that works very well is to build slip-together cardboard separators with either notches in the floor or acid free wrapping paper crumpled up on the floor to immobilize the cars/engines.  Nothing touches the sides and the equipment does not move around.  You can't toss the boxes around but they can be stacked and carried without causing harm to the trains.  I've been using this for decades and I've never had any trouble with paint damage or rust.

Good info. 

thanks for all the help, gang.

I went with Robert Butler's idea. I was so concerned with wrapping them safely to transport them, that I forgot I could unwrap them and store them any way I like once I got to them to their storage site. I crumpled acid-free paper on the bottom of some cardboard boxes, placed the trains on top of the paper so they wouldn't roll around, and stored the boxes in a climate controlled room. It took up more boxes and therefore more space since the trains weren't placed on top of one another, but it sounds like the best option.