Acetone is a good solvent & may dissolve varnish. In the U.S. pure acetone
is sold in hardware stores. But beware that it is highly flammable. It also
evaporates quickly & the prolonged breathing of its fumes would be hazardous
to your health.

Aydin

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taylor, Simon [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 9:53 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Removing Varnish
>
>
>                         Hello Conch-Lers,
>                         I recently bought an old collection
> and many of the
> shells were varnished. I have tried any number of ways to
> take it off and
> have met with limited success. Proprietary varnish remover
> (intended for
> furniture, etc) will get it off but goes very gloopy,
> especially when you
> wash it off. This is a nightmare with shells which have
> detailed sculpture
> and/or fine spines. It also requires scrubbing to attack the
> varnish which
> is difficult with fragile or unusually shaped shells. Does
> anybody have an
> easier method I could use? Is there a chemical I could just
> soak it off in?
> The lining of my nose and throat would be very grateful.
>                         Simon Taylor (looking forward to the
> British Shell
> Collectors Show this weekend), Essex, England
>                         [log in to unmask]
>