Thought I would just pass on a warning to everyone. I just received an older rifle that had been wrapped directly in contact with bubblewrap and the small circles from the bubbles had either, through the summer heat or chemical reaction been transferred onto the stock finish in circular matte shadows. It took a judicious amount of elbow grease and Renaisance Wax to remove them. From now on I will be sure and ask the seller to wrap in newspaper first then bublewrap, as we do. I still have to give it a day or two and see if they reappear.I will report if they do. Just be aware and warn shippers! Warmest To All Jerry

Thanks Jerry, I always wrap in newsprint (unprinted end rolls) and then bubble wrap.

Jerry, I've had the same experience. A Hagn single shot I bought recently had tiny lumps where the bubbles contacted the finish. I suspect the reaction may be finish specific, so perhaps some of the modern plastics would not react, but the oil finish sure did.

I'm going to go back to knit gun socks inside plastic boxes for all shipping I do, and request the same from shippers. It might add a few dollars cost, but worth it not to have to worry about saving the finish, original or not.

Thanks guys! I could be guilty!!!
I wonder if summer heat might be a factor??
No need to find out...

Is this what could happen ?

The wrinkle pattern makes me suspect it was wrapped in plastic "shrink wrap" or something like "Saran Wrap" rather than bubble wrap, but the damage is similar! I think you'll find a very thin transfer of plastic onto the wood finish. As Jerry said above, a very fine abrasive, like wax, may remove it.

Terry, the picture shows the bubble wrap the gun arrived in. See the brown residue on the bubble ahead of the trigger guard. This damage was so bad that I think there must have been a solvent on the bubble wrap before packaging. One could scrape off the factory oringinal finish with ones fingernail. I do have a set of barrels here that I have had to wipe down several times to get the "spots" from bubble wrap off of the newly blued surface. I'll not use bubble wrap against a gun's finish again.

When you unroll new bubble wrap, it often gives of an odor. That volatile chemical is probably our finish eater. You now hold the record for the worst case I've seen!

Guys: Thought I would report back, that it has now been a week and my rifle is luckily o.k. After I posted last week, there were a few spots I missed or didn't remove all the way, but a day later I went over them again with Renaisance Wax [Museum Quality made in England] and they came right out! Whew... that was close! While I'm issuing warnings I may, as we say in the South...GO WHOLE HOG! Do not get WIPE OUT COPPER REMOVER FOAM CLEANER anywhere near any of the old type laquer/varnish/oil based stock finishes!!!!!! If you do, it will immediately cause a hardshell stock finish 70 years old to soften... gum and roll under your fingers. The blue copper wash from the barrel if it drains out and down through the magazine well onto the stock, will stain the wood and cannot be sanded out. REMOVE THE BARRELED ACTION FROM THE STOCK, WHEN USING THIS PRODUCT WITH VINTAGE GUNS [It SUPPOSEDLY does not affect MODERN STOCK FINISHES]...REMOVE THE ACTION...THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS...TILTING THE RIFLE PER THE INSTRUCTIONS IS BULL****. The foam expands at such a rapid rate it cannot be controlled, not to expand backwards into the magazine well! This happened not to me but to my gunsmith, and he had to refinish a SEDGLEY at his expense! Just be aware...a word again of warning!!!

Interesting thread.
I'd like to hear(read) more careful wraps that protect the finish during shipping that's been used successfully for years.

I just bought a new roll of bubble wrap.

The last rifle I shipped was sent bare in a Midway shipping box egg crate foam lined. The client said the stock sheen didn't match what I'd sent him in photos. I had used the RenWax before pics and shipping and sent him the wax tin.

Probably phthalates added to the plastic to make it flexible. This chemical is also used as a solvent for varnish and other finishes. Think about what it is doing to you when you wrap your food in Saran wrap. But as that old Monsanto commercial used to say, "without chemicals, life itself would be impossible." Okay.