We've used the method of cleaning shells that Karlynn Morgan mentions (i.e.,
mineral oil and dental picks) a lot and have had really good results with shells
we thought we'd never be able to clean up.  NOTE TO SYLVIA EDWARDS:  We've
cleaned up many lions paws with encrustations on the nodes this way without
damaging the nodes.  I don't know what a Dremel tool is but if you have to grind
with it, I'd worry about chipping the shell.
 
>>> Karlynn Morgan <[log in to unmask]> 01/05/98 01:24pm >>>
Paul Monfils wrote:
 
> Acid on shells?  :-(  Best avoided if at all possible.  The only
> legitimate use for acid (and some would debate that) is as a last
> resort measure to soften or loosen heavy lime deposits on a shell
> exterior.  This is often a problem with shallow water, rock-dwelling
> forms like Morum, Thais, Haliotis, etc., and the appearance of such
> shells may sometimes be improved by the judicious application of
> dilute acid to the exterior
 
 
I was recently shown a good way to remove these encrustations/deposits
from shells which works really well for me.  Soak them in mineral oil.
Then, using a scraping blade on a dental pick, simply scrape off what is
easily removed--then back into the mineral oil, repeating until the
shell is as clean as you want it to be.  It requires no hard work
without chipping the shell or your fingers--but it does take some time
to accomplish to allow for the soaking.
 
Last summer I cleaned a huge _Pleurploca gigantium_ that was heavily
encrusted with calcium deposits.  Not having enough mineral oil to soak
it in, I placed it on a tray, put a small milk bottle cap under one side
to provide a slight tilt--and poured mineral oil over the shell,
brushing it on with a pastry brush--as the oil ran off the shell, I
dipped my brush back in what had pooled on the down side of the tray and
everytime I walked by the shell, I would "baste" it a little more.  That
shell is as clean as a whistle! :-)
--
          ___
        _[   ]_     Karlynn Morgan
      _[  \ /  ]_
     [  \     /  ]  [log in to unmask]
      \   \ /   /
       _\ . . /_    Post Office Box 7606
      (_________)   Naples, Florida  34101-7606