For those who don’t know, the Post Office, UPS and Fed Ex are not kind to your packages. Boxes are dumped, knocked off trucks, and dropped. I’m not saying shipping employees do this kind of thing on purpose, but accidents do happen. That’s why it’s important to make sure you protect the parts you send us so they can arrive safely. To achieve this goal, there are a few simple packaging steps to follow.

Step 1 – Select a sturdy box for the part you are shipping. The box must be of a type that is not easily crushed and of a size that minimizes movement of the piece(s) inside. Care must be taken to ensure that the piece fits completely inside without protruding.

Step 2 – Place a good 2-3 inch layer of peanuts on the bottom inside the box to serve as a cushion. The size of the piece you send us will determine the amount of packing peanuts to use. It is very important that you do not skimp on this step. If you’re not sure how many packing peanuts to use, more is always better than not enough.

Step 3: Use bubble wrap! Even though you are using packaging peanuts, you still need to bubble wrap the part you are sending us. This provides twice the protection and reduces the risk of damage, peeling paint or scratches.

Step 4 – Now that you have your part fully bubble wrapped, place it in the box on top of the packing peanuts. There should be some spaces inside the box surrounding the bubble wrapped piece.

Step 5: Fill any voids and dead air spaces inside the box with more packing pellets. This should fill the box to the bottom. When you’re done, you should be able to close the box lids easily.

Step 6 – Now, with your part safely and fully protected inside the box, seal the box with a large amount of packing tape.

Step 7 – If you have followed all of the steps above, you should be able to shake your sealed case without hearing any movement inside. Remember, if you hear movement, there is a risk of damage. Now is the time to correct any packaging problems.

These steps work extremely well for smaller parts like gas tanks, fenders, and oil tanks. For larger items, such as motorcycle frames, you may want to consider shipping them to us in a box instead of a cardboard box. This is the only thing I would change due to your size and weight requirements.

Please note that you must still follow all of the steps listed above whether you are shipping items in a wooden box or a cardboard box. The ultimate goal is to avoid unnecessary damage to any parts you send us for custom painting.