Quake-Proofing

Tips on securing art from the “Emergency Care Booklet for Your Family Possessions,” by fine arts conservator Scott M. Haskins:

* Quake Wax, a sticky synthetic wax, can be used between the base of an object and a surface to anchor it. It also can be used at the corners behind paintings to help hold them straight on the walls.

* Make sure your paintings’ hanging hooks are well anchored to the wall and not just limply clinging to your plasterboard. Don’t trust a nail, screw or surface stick-’em hook. There are special hangers for plasterboard, plastered walls and wood.

* Install clasps or hooks on cabinet doors.

* Behind furniture, install anchor bolts (long-eye screws) into the studs (not just into the plaster) and tie the furniture to the wall with a nylon-coated wire.

* A lip on the front of a bookshelf will help keep books and objects from “walking” off the shelf.

Additional suggestions from collectors:

* Use two hooks and two coated wires to hang each painting.

* Other adhesives that can be used include Quake Hold or 3M No. 924 Adhesive Transfer Tape.

* Place weights inside a vase to lower its center of gravity and make it less likely to topple.

* Install plexiglass guards or two strands of fishing line in front of shelves to prevent objects from walking.

* Silicon shelves to their brackets and the back of the cabinet.