Re: [ATM] Advice for shipping a 16" mirror

[Mike Lockwood <melockwo@uiuc.edu>]

Hi,

After shipping 40 mirrors or so, I can say that the most important 
thing is to not let the mirror move around in its packaging.  I favor 
a heavy box full of solid, closed-cell foam (pink or blue), with the 
mirror tightly packed inside.  For 6" or larger mirrors, I do NOT use 
foam peanuts, bubble wrap, newspaper, and other insufficiently durable 
space fillers.  They allow the mirror to move around a bit, which is 
bad.  I want a minimum of 2" of foam on all sides of the mirror, and 
the mirror should NOT be able to move.  It should be a solid brick of 
cardboard, foam and glass.  Even if you drop a mirror in this package, 
it might dent the corner but the mirror itself won't crush the (pink 
or blue) foam.  White foam is another story.

I cover the optical surface with kleenex or a clean, soft towel or 
cloth.  You can add another layer of cardboard inside the box if it 
makes you feel better.  I use shipping tape wrapped completely around 
the box, and I reinforce the corners with it.

Perhaps the one thing people forget is that the mirror has to be 
repacked after it is coated.  Therefore, make the repacking by the 
coater easy.  If your package is packed with lots of random bits of 
foam, bubble wrap etc., the odds of them getting it all back in place 
perfectly are practically zero, and pieces often get left out.  Make 
it simple, tight fitting, and easy to repack, and the coater will 
appreciate it.

This packing will keep the mirror from being broken if it is dropped. 
  However, nothing can save it if they decide to run a forklift fork 
through it.  (No, that hasn't happenned to me.)  Therefore, insure the 
mirror for enough to ease the pain if that actually happens.

	Mike Lockwood

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