Dear Charles;
        While polishing or otherwise altering the natural appearance of a shell
may make it look more attractive to some, the great majority of
collectors prefer to recieve and preserve their shells in as natural a
state as possible - for example, unless a specimen is of a rare species
or form, or is in some other way quite exeptional, it is next to
impossible to sell if the lip is even slightly filed, and polished or
otherwise extensively altered shells are generally not even considered
by conchologists.  The only exeptions are mild treatments that simply
enhance and preserve natural features of the shell, such as light oil
application, and the use of glycerin to preserve fragile periostracum.
Note that these treatments are easily removed, and are thus are not
considered shell "doctoring".  Therefore, the vast majority of methods
of shell specimen alteration are not acceptible to the collector, and
are of interest primarily to sellers and consumers of "commercial" or
tourist/ornamental shells.

Sincerely,
Ross.
>           Charles Geerts <[log in to unmask]>
> Hi List,
> The topic is of great interest.
> It is just like cooking. Most ingredients are known and are probably the same used in the gemstone industry. Your dentist might also be in a position to give you lots of tips on abrasives and mechanical tools to be used. I am personally very concerned about surface treatment that might be applied to the very expensive or even common cypraea.Is the shell community
> ready to accept such enhancement with or without full disclosure? People who restore old paintings also informed miracles are possible.Who will > educate us to spot restorations?
> Responses are encouraged to the author of this note or on the forum.