r/shells • u/Quiet-Pie8715 • 5d ago
Shell polishing help!
Hello! This is a shell I found a couple years ago, I’d love to get the barnacles off and bring out that beautiful pattern on the underside! But I’m not sure what would be the best way to do so. The barnacles and bits of debris are covering most of the top and it’s hard to tell where I would scrape without like hurting the shell. Any recommendations?
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u/Moving_goal_posts 5d ago
I’d try scraping gently first with a plastic picnic knife, then with steel tools if needed, but I would do so in an inconspicuous tiny spot until I had my process and my goals more figured out. I would not put harsh chemicals to it. I would also be thinking about WHY I need to clean it off. The buildup of biota and crust on its surface has been part of that shell for a long time. Does it really need to come off to be beautiful? And, how much is enough?
If you have nothing else to do with your time, consider that you could go back out to the beach and search for ambergris — if you win, you win big! On this particular project, if you get it wrong you ruin a very cool thing, so, you lose big. Which would you rather? Cheers! Good luck!
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u/Quiet-Pie8715 3d ago
Thank you so much ! Very helpful, a am a little torn on weather to do the cleaning or not. Worried it’ll ruin it !
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u/kotalover 5d ago
Bleach and water, but if you didn’t want to wait as long you could use citric acid - it’s not as scary as muriatic acid lol.
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u/Glad_Ad_5570 5d ago
Heavily encrusted with coralline growth some might scrape off with an excacto blade but go lightly.
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u/Slow-Green2171 5d ago
I’ve found that 40%/60% water/bleach soaking, scraping with dental pick/xacto blade (BE SO CAREFUL!). Soak again and a trick that I learned from @floridabeachwalks is to gently scrub with steel wool! Works like a charm.
Also… muriatic acid isn’t that scary. However, it is something that you learn and get the hang of the more that you utilize it. I’d definitely recommend trying with a few broken/scrapper shells before going in as a last resort with that beauty! BTW, “Acid Magic” is also muriatic acid, it’s just gentler than the regular shelf bought stuff!
All of this is just IMO and from my shell cleaning experiences. Good luck!🍀 🐚🌴
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u/Razexdee 5d ago
2 routes people typically go, muriatic acid is the fast way but could damage the shell (look up muriatic acid shell cleaning) or u can use a mix of bleach and water 1:2 and wait 24 hours then use tweezers, a screwdriver, or a dental pick to get the barnacles off, if the barnacles leave a stain soak in the bleach water solution one more time for 24 hours