I live in an area with high temperatures during the summers, and occasional times of frost. I want to store my canvases in the attic. We have attic fans that come on automatically to circulate air. I know not to store acrylic canvases face to face due to softening in hot weather, but what else should I do to protect these pieces?
This isn't a bad situation for storage. Store canvases so nothing is touches the surface. Attics and other similar storage areas usually have a lot of dust. We are not too worried about the temperature fluctuations, because as long as the artwork is undisturbed while very cold there is no real danger of cracking of the paint film, and warm weather should not be a problem as long as something isn't touching the surface. Take a section of an attic or barn that is free from water leaks and any other contaminates and create some simple framed out areas that will accommodate paintings of the scale you normally work in. It's good to settle on the space you intend to use and then draft up some plans. Any unusual sized spaces will be filled with raw canvas and other pack rat items. Once the space has been framed out, then use heavy gauge plastic (comes in rolls at the hardware store.) and tack it around to reduce dust and bugs from settling on the paint. If the space you selected has questionable walls, tack the plastic down before framing as well. Make sure to not cover the vent fans as you still should have some air movement.