I am in Rhode Island, with different shells, so different problems. Your email address will not be published. Are there any middle GA shell enthusiasts here? It’s not the most attractive thing in the world, but it’s fairly inconspicuous and most importantly, it keeps the dust out! Since the shells seem to be piled high- What is the best footwear and should I bring a rubber gardener’s kneeling pad? I’m almost sure it is illegal to take ‘live’ shells from ANY beach in Florida, not just Sanibel and Captiva. I would worry more about the health risks and damage to the environment. I just want people to know the pros and cons of using the “acid wash.” BTW, a 50% solution of lighter fluid and mineral oil applied with a small paint brush to your King’s crowns will also bring back the color and not hurt the shells. It does seem to apply just fine over the traditionally oiled shells thus far, though, so more experimentation continues! This must do the trick! It can irritate your respiratory tract and it needs to be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility — not down a drain, in the trash or down a storm drain. and quickly (a couple of seconds) dipped it into the solution then dumped them into another tub with clean water. And to Pam for this incredible website! Thanks for all the great information. Those were pretty amazing! I’m guessing something washed these guys ashore in the shell bed. At a guess, the micro-pitting the vinegar is creating is increasing the porosity of the surface enough for the oil to adhere and penetrate better in addition to removing whatever remnants the bleach and basic surface calcification might be leaving behind. I wouldn’t use any type of cooking oil because they go rancid over time. So grab your supplies, and let’s make those shells look their best with a … Hello, of color. 1) the shells came out beautiful, and 2) I lived to tell about it. I’ve used muratic acid several times with no problem. Pam (i love shelling) has a post about using muriatic acid to restore color to shells. JOAN. Since they have become very old they have become quite yellow. I might try it sometime on some of my “surf tired” shells. How To Restore Color To Your Seashells Tutorial. Upon reading this thread and others. The bubbles coming up from the shell in the muriatic acid show that the shell surface is being dissolved. I just want to stress the importance of the identified solution on the jar with a sticky, you never know who will get close and keep children. I’m looking for information on cleaning a very old shell collection, could have been collected in the ’40’s, some are labeled as to where they were found, worldwide. Help, We just collected several olive shells and other shells with live creatures on our vacation this week. Myabe even dunk it quickly in the area that is most effected and encrusted and see if it comes off (of course followed by dunking it in the water). So how do we clean/restore shells of collector quality? I can’t get over it. I am an amateur shell collector. Connie, I am unaware of any seashell from the west coast of Florida or elsewhere that is commonly called a “mermaid’s mirror”. My husband and I both really enjoy collecting seashells together. Enjoyed reading the comments. Hello, GREAT SITE! Thanks as always MK for letting us know this fantastic information and what it can do to a shell. I have to say, the combination of tung oil, used to bring out the original color of the shell and lighter fluid, used as a drying agent for the tung oil, is spectacular. Sorry about that! Yes, also took our son the next morning and he LOVED it as well.Unfortunately the most beautiful shells were alive. I feel like this is a question that gets asked on any cleaning thread lol. Good luck! Lake Superior Agates. The shells were BEAUTIFUL after I dipped them. Tacking vinegar onto the grocery list is far easier than ‘pick up some acid, wouldya?’ I sometimes use it for dyeing fabric and yarn, so he’s used to the workspace areas of the house smelling of vinegar for a few days every year already. Wet the rim of the bowl by running a wet finger around it. Pam, no problem. Have a whole vase of paper figs as a result…sigh…. It’s fun to put my chemistry knowledge to use in a fun way instead of the usual boring stuff. The other was small and appeared to be empty. AWESOME! I might even wear a mask while using it. Thank you,MurexKen, for giving us this “window” into dozens of shell related topics. I am a Living Historian, as well as avid shell collector, thanks for a caveat about the acid, we use it, but we do not collect specimens, just shells to show pre contact uses of shells by Native Peoples. This has been bothering me all week and I finally came back to put in my two cents only to find that MK already did. How would that happen. Came across the website and post while trying to figure out what to do with some conch shells I got on vacation in the Bahamas. Whink rust remover worked a little bit, but I have not fully tested it. Any suggestions. let dry for an hour. I wore gloves, safety glasses, tongs, and a mask with a respirator. I did all of this outdoors. I do use bleach for northern shells that I want to be “white” (maybe 1c. I’ve been told that this doesn’t work, but I know first hand that it does. I rub my shells with a light coating of mineral oil and it brings out the natural colors and gives them a soft shine. thanks you, I love shells in Pa. I’m just getting into the whole shelling thing… and LOVE it! Sea life that is preserved in denatured alcohol, keeps its vivid colors much longer, but it must be kept wet in the alcohol. From chemistry classes, acid plus base yeilds, water and salt plus gas. Thanks Murex Ken for this great shell preservation idea! Sanibel has been my fav for shelling since my first trip over on the ferry in the early ’60s. I know of no way around this problem. Oh lord, I believe I have yet ANOTHER hobby, LOL. Fill a pot with equal parts water and bleach. I thought I had ruined these KINGS CROWN shells for good after soaking them too long in a bleach solution (1/8 bleach to 7/8 water) to try to clean them up last year. I removed all the barnacles that contained animals, but if you wanted to leave them on the shell, I would go the fire ant route. Shells do pile up especially on the Captiva side of Blind Pass beach and I have had a lot of luck when they pile up under the bridge on the Sanibel side of the pass. Karen, Sorry, I am not the one who recommends lighter fluid, just the OPPOSITE. It’s the same one we use to dump our RV. I have heard that the scent in baby oil can also go bad over time, but I have not tested that. Because I was not terribly well educated on the topic and a little squicky about the possibility of stuff being alive, even though I know there wasn’t anything ;P, So now my mementos look very, very dull. After they dry then I scrub off any barnacles, etc with a toothbrush and small dental pick and rub mineral oil into them to restore the shine. When I was finished, I let the shells dry in the sun. I tried this on figs and whelks and it worked great. My calico scallops look like they just came out of the water and most of my shells look like new. I boil my shells. I also did a second rinse in a large plastic bucket. Did I do something wrong or is this normal? Thanks for the great discussion on cleaning and preserving shells. This was really obvious since the shells in question were some of the bright red and orange oysters. I just returned home after a brief trip to Sanibel and Pinellas county. I will post about and link back to you! Rub baby oil or mineral oil on the shells to restore shine. I want to make a pendant for my granddaughter from a tiny abalone shell.I’m considering using glossy finish on the inside of the shell and matte finish on the outside. third- I ‘smell out’ my stinky shells and first try boiling them to loosen up the debris but if that doesn’t work I put them in a ziplock out in the garage till spring, not many ants around here right now. I too have LOTS of dust and baby oil is just not an option. I recently brought back 5 hand-sized sea clam shells from Gloucester, Massachusetts. The mollusk had already been taken out and I soaked them in a bleach water mixture last night for a couple hours and then I scrubbed them off with a scrub brush. Decided not to use the acid. If you don’t recommend the muratic acid, what else can be used? Please used it outside, and make sure when you dispose it, you do it according to your local waste management. We have been growing our collection of shells found at the beach together, and have a few projects in mind for some of them – which started with these glass vase lamps we just finished for our bedroom:.
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