Salutations!

I am a beginning collector with the good fortune to be in South Korea
temporarily but long-term and have access to Ceratostoma coreanicum and
Pteropurpura adunca, among many interesting shells.  Those two named have
beautiful, wide, but quite fragile varices.  After two days in Clorox,
most of them still have a lot of unattractive crap on them.  Although I
try to work as carefully as possible, after a dozen shells I still am
unable to completely clean any without doing at least minute damage to one
or more of the varices.  I soak them well in mineral oil cut with lighter
fluid to increase its absorption, and that does help, but some of the
deposits under the overhanging tips of the varices are extremely stubborn
and impossible to reach with anything but the tip of a hypodermic needle
(which I have by prescription and keep in a locked safe except when I am
using them).  The shells I have finished preparing are gorgeous, but less
than they could have been but for my clumsiness, and that difference gives
me great pain.

I would appreciate any advice in this regard.  Does any of you have
experience with ultrasonic de-scaling, such as dentists do, with a
cleaning tip instead of a soak tank.  As M. Monfils pointed out a few
years ago, that tank cavitation can't remove the calcification, although
it, like bleach, might remove organic material in the layers and make them
more susceptible to removal, but his (your, M. Monfils) comments did not
address the de-scaling use of ultrasound.  Is it likely that that would
help?

I look forward to learning from you.  Thanks, in advance.

Chuck Wilder

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