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How to Spec Surface Protection and Shipping: What to Send H-O for a Quote
A protection RFQ priced from a foam thickness alone usually prices the wrong protection, because what H-O quotes is the film, separator, and dunnage set tied to a finish, a unit weight, a rack, and a route, and to the phase the protection has to survive. This is the checklist the applications team works from, drawn from the parent page own quote-information list, with what engineering does with each item and what comes back. Send a part and a route, and the kit follows.
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What turns a protection RFQ into a quotable kit?
The Surface Protection and Shipping page frames the work by phase, line, route, and site, and by the discipline of kitting so the line cannot improvise. The checklist below collects the information that resolves the hazards by phase, so the quote prices the right film, pad, and block at the right count rather than a generic foam. Send as much as you have; partial specs are welcome and engineering fills the gaps during quote review.
| Send this | What it decides |
|---|---|
| 1. The finish and its cure age | The film tack class: standard tack for cured robust finishes, low-tack fabrication grade for young or delicate coatings. |
| 2. The faces to mask | The film set: frame and panel film versus glass protective film, slit to width per face. |
| 3. Staging dwell and UV exposure | The exposure window: a longer-window grade and a removal date where the site dwell is honestly long. |
| 4. Unit weights and contact points | The dunnage firmness: EPE for light duty, crosslinked PE plank for the weights EPE bottoms beneath, so the cushion strokes. |
| 5. The rack and separator interfaces | The separator pads: cork or foam Wonder Pads at the glass edges, in a known count per lite. |
| 6. The route and distribution cycle | The package-test basis: ASTM D4169 or the ISTA procedures on the packed configuration before the route scales. |
| 7. The mullion and edge sections | The edge protection: snap-on XLPE profiles to the section, dense PVC foam on rack rails, cling foam on finish-critical faces. |
| 8. The phase boundary | What returns with the rack versus what stays through install, with removal dates named. |
| 9. Kitting preference and counts | Per-unit or per-rack kits, pads kiss-cut in the exact count, blocks die-cut to fit only their position, phase plan on the bag. |
| 10. Prototype and production volumes | Converting method and price structure. Every part is made to order, including pilot kits; MOQ varies by material and part. |
What engineering does with the list
Items 1 through 3 pick the film: PolyMask PE for cured frames, a low-tack grade for young finishes, and glass film with the UV window on the paperwork. Items 4 through 6 size the dunnage and separators, EPE and XLPE against the weight and Wonder Pads at the edges, against the cycle test. Item 7 selects the cling-foam and edge profiles; item 8 sets the phase plan with removable grades that stay through install; and items 9 and 10 become the kitting and pricing plan. The reply documents each grade TDS lines with the test method named.
What happens after you send it
- Review and pilot. Engineering reviews the finish, the weights, and the route against the vendor TDS, and pilots the film on production parts at the real cure age and removal timing.
- Material direction and quote. A film, separator, and dunnage direction with the TDS lines, the converted format (slit film, kiss-cut pads, die-cut blocks, edge profiles, kits), and pricing at your quantities.
- Samples. Typically 3 to 5 business days for common die-cut configurations on materials we keep on hand, including pilot kits.
- Production and iteration. Standard runs ship about two weeks after drawing approval, including kiss-cut and kitted configurations; when a package-test run calls for firmer blocks or a different pad count, revised die-cut parts ship in days. Expedited service is available when a route or a damage problem cannot wait.
Documentation available on request: material technical data sheet, certificate of conformance, and lot traceability, under our ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system. H-O slits, die-cuts, kiss-cuts, and kits the protection materials; we do not run package-level shipping tests, which belong at a package test lab on your packed configuration.
The mistakes this checklist prevents
| Spec mistake | What it causes | Checklist item that catches it |
|---|---|---|
| Cure age not stated | Standard tack ghosts a young powder coat | Item 1 |
| Staging dwell omitted | The film bakes on past its UV window | Item 3 |
| Weight and contacts not sent | The dunnage concentrates load and cracks a lite | Items 4 and 6 |
| Separator count left to the line | A missing pad lets a fastener ride the lite | Item 5, count in the spec |
| No phase plan | Protection ends at the curb, install damage follows | Item 8 |
| Loose SKUs, no kit | The line grabs the nearest foam and a claim follows | Item 9, per-unit kit |
Frequently asked questions
What information does H-O need to quote surface protection and shipping?
The finish and its cure age, the faces to mask, the staging dwell and UV exposure, the unit weights and contact points, the rack and separator interfaces, the route and distribution cycle, the mullion and edge sections, the phase boundary, the kitting preference and counts, and the volumes. Photos of any current rub or damage pattern help. Partial specs are welcome; engineering fills the gaps during quote review. Every part is made to order, including pilot kits, and lead times are confirmed with your quote.
Can the protection set come kitted per unit?
Yes, and it is the operational fix for most protection failures. The kit holds everything one unit or one rack needs: separator pads kiss-cut in the exact count, corner blocks and edge profiles die-cut so they only fit their positions, films pre-cut to the lites, and the phase plan printed on the bag. One BOM line replaces several loose foam SKUs and the improvisation between them, and omissions become visible, an empty kit pocket on the line instead of a cracked lite three states away.
Bring the unit drawing, the rack, and the route to the RFQ and engineering quotes the kit alongside loose parts.
Can you match the protection parts we buy from another supplier?
In most cases, yes. Send the incumbent TDS, a sample, or even just the part on the rack, and engineering cross-references to families H-O converts: film tack class and carrier gauge against the D3330/D3759/D882 lines, foam chemistry and firmness class against D3575/D1056, and facing and format against the line removal preference.
Protection parts are usually the easiest cross-reference because the duties are mechanical and the TDS lines map cleanly, and the conversion to a kitted, die-cut format often improves on the incumbent loose-parts arrangement. Verified against the vendor TDS before quoting.
Does H-O run the package test, or supply the parts for it?
H-O supplies and converts the parts; the package test runs at a package test lab. We convert the films, pads, dunnage, and edge profiles and assemble the kits, with the TDS lines documented per part, and the package-level proof, distribution-cycle testing per ASTM D4169 or the ISTA procedures, runs on your packed configuration at the lab.
What H-O contributes to that gate is converting precision and fast iteration: when the lab run says firmer corner blocks or a different pad count, revised die-cut parts ship in days, so the packed configuration converges quickly before the route scales.
Send the part and route, get a protection quote
Attach the unit drawing, the rack, the route, and the finish with its cure age, plus photos of any current damage pattern. A sample part works when no drawing exists, and partial specs are welcome.
Samples typically ship in 3 to 5 business days for common die-cut configurations on materials we keep on hand; standard production runs about two weeks after drawing approval; expedited service is available. MOQ varies by material and part.
Family-owned in Winsted, Connecticut since 1971 · ISO 9001:2015 certified · OEMs worldwide send us a drawing — and get back their part.
Related reading
Request a quote for your surface protection & shipping part
Send H-O your drawing or describe the part—engineering reviews every RFQ and converts samples on your geometry.
Last updated · Reviewed by H-O Products engineering (ISO 9001:2015 certified converter, Winsted, CT).
References
- ASTM D3330 / D3330M (peel adhesion); ASTM D3759 / D3759M (tensile and elongation of pressure-sensitive tapes); ASTM D882 (tensile properties of thin plastic sheeting); ASTM D3652 / D3652M (thickness).
- ASTM D3575 (crosslinked polyethylene foam); ASTM D1056 (flexible cellular rubber); ASTM D1667 (vinyl chloride foam); ASTM D2240 (durometer).
- ASTM D4169 (performance testing of shipping containers and systems); ISTA test procedures (distribution-cycle testing).
- Manufacturer technical data sheets for the PolyMask PE film, glass protective film, low-tack fabrication grades, cork and foam Wonder Pads, EPE and crosslinked PE dunnage, and cling-foam and removable-grade families named on the parent application page.
This checklist supports a quotation workflow; it is not packaging design guidance for any specific route. Film qualification is proven by a pilot on production parts, and package-level performance by distribution-cycle testing per ASTM D4169 or the ISTA procedures at a package test lab. Grade-level values are confirmed on the manufacturer's current technical data sheet at quote time.
All parts are custom manufactured to order; minimum production run quantities vary by material and part. H-O is a die-cut converter and does not run package-level shipping tests.