Here's a sugestion you may really hate: Muriatic acid. I have used it with great success on my dental plate. (always with a cotton swab and running water close at hand). It also works on "dirty" shells. Doesn't affect the shell itself---just things that are not supposed to be there. I don't think I'd use it on very brittle shells.
    Art


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---- "Brenner wrote:
> I have used oxalic acid to clean rust stains from mineral samples - usually
> silicates and oxides.  Both of those groups are GENERALLY insoluble in MOST
> acids.  Usually, calcium carbonate with any acid is not a good combination
> for the carbonate, neither calcite nor aragonite.  I have found rust to be
> nearly impossible to remove since it many times is IN the shell as well as
> on it.
>
> I guess it depends on how you look at it.  A taxonomist might feel that the
> rust stain is a characteristic of the shells found on Cedar Key and is an
> important feature that illustrates the variation within the species and
> won't expend much effort, if any, to remove the stain.
>
> On the other hand, if aesthetics is most important to the collector, one
> might not be as concerned with the location as with the appearance.  Given
> the difficulty of stain removal, one might better expend his time at another
> location.
>
> Are the shells of other species found there on Cedar Key stained, too?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bev Dolezal [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 7:53 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Cleaning Angel Wings
>
> Just got back from a shelling trip to Cedar Key, Florida where a number of
> us dug for angel wings.  The specimens we brought back seem to have a rust
> color on their exteriors and  even after days of bleaching (and with
> changing the solution each day) none among the 6 collectors can get a pure
> white exterior.  Any ideas on how to get rid of this rust coloration?
> Bev - Clearwater
>
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