James,

I'd use mineral oil instead of baby oil as baby oil has a perfume smell.
I'm alergic to something in the scent of baby oil, maybe there's hyacinth
in it, and sneeze profusely when exposed to it. Many people have alergies
to perfumes, so...stick with mineral oil. (A freind of mine has baby oil
on most of his collection...they're beautiful, but "yuck"!)
Peter Egerton, Vanouver, Canada

>James, I've heard of using baby oil or mineral oil on shells and it wouldn't
>harm the shell since it's pretty inert. I have used mineral oil on shells
>with no ill effects. Vicky Wall
>
>James M Cheshire wrote:
>
>> Dear all, I just oiled some self collected Nassarius vibex and
>> an Epitonium rupicola. Now, I was wondering, does this decrease the
>> value of the shell? I heard it is a great thing to do, as it restores the
>> shells
>> natural oil, and enhances the color. Should I have done this, or not?
>>
>> Regards,
>> James
>
>
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Peter Egerton, Vancouver, Canada
Collector of worldwide Mollusca
http://www.intergate.bc.ca/personal/seashell/index.html
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