Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Preparing sea shells for crafts or display

Q. Hi. I've been collecting mother of pearl buttons now for about four years. I do not keep them in air-tight plastic containers, as buttons need to breathe. So far, I've kept them in old tins that I have. About six months ago, while admiring my mop buttons, I noticed a build-up of white cement-like substance spreading across a few of my smaller ones.
Upon further inspection, I found it is corrosion spreading across my mop buttons and in fact infecting any buttons around it as well. Now, I do not understand why or how a shell from the water can be corroded at all. It seems strange to me. I've gone into button forums and searched and then researched and can find no real information. When people in these forums talk about their buttons being corroded, they are only ever speaking of metal buttons. I've found no other articles or forums where they are talking about mother of pearl getting corroded. My question is, How can I stop this corrosion from spreading and ruining my buttons and can I fix the infected ones and how? I guess it would be helpful to know why this happens as well. Thank you

andria wessner
button collector - pine grove pennsylvania
February 8, 2023


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Q. Do you know anything to easily remove the brown "varnish" (periostracum) from shells like razor or varnish clams?

I've tried soaking in strong diluted bleach for weeks, boiling, oxyclean. The bleach caused tiny "bubbles" to form, but very little change in the ease of removal.

I am currently trying a solvent called ScraPerfect's Best Cleaner Ever [on eBay or Amazon affil links], and am hopeful, but not very confident it will work.

THANKS!

Amy Roszak
- Poulsbo, WA
March 6, 2024

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⇩ Closely related postings, oldest first ⇩

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Q. I've read comments about polishing/cleaning sea shells including "buffing" with a material from a lapidary supplier. I'm trying to clean numerous shells, many are fragile (mussels, moonshells, etc.) and I know they would not do well in a tumbler. Could you comment about how to use the "chemical" in a hands-on approach?

It appears that the surface of our shells is calcium, salt, etc. We can purchase commercial sea shells that are cleaned to the natural color, but we want to clean the ones we find.

Thanks,

Geri Sera
- Nanaimo, BC, Canada
2002

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Q. I'm an art therapist, and didn't care much about sea shells till now. 4 months ago I started a treatment with a child of 10 years old, and the only way to start a dialogue with him was by sea shells. So I began to collect them, to read books about them - because this child asks many questions about them - and was fascinated with this new world. He himself started his own collection. Our question is: how come the shells that we buy are so bright and "clean"? is there any way we can do it in my clinic? I appreciate your reply, thanks.

Aliza Galkin
art therapist - Moshav Amikam, D. N. Menashe, Israel
2004

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Q. I got an abalone shell from a sushi bar; how can I clean it before using it for jewelry?

David Reeves
Misawa Japan
2004

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Q. Well, I too have recently returned from the Bahamas and we found a conch shell while snorkeling. We have gotten the meat removed, while in Bahamas, and a local told me to soak it in water and bleach... most of the debris are gone but it now has a white film on it. What do I do next to finish cleaning it?

Brian Peterson
army - Fayetteville, North Carolina
2005

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Q. I have been trying to find out how to polish sea shells. I have read various sites where it is suggested that you use a tumbler. I did not want to invest that much money into the effort. I was told that once the shell was soaked in diluted bleach water, I could polish it with a rag and car compound, and then to seal it with clear fingernail polish. Has anyone used this technique and how has it worked?

Linda Riley
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
2005

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Q. I have tried the mineral oil on my shells with good results initially but after the oil soaks in, the color turns back the way it was. Which is a whitish color. Is there something else I could use that would not soak in as much? Or do I need to soak longer in vinegar or bleach?

Criss Helms
- Capitola, California
2006


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Q. I have oyster shells that I would like to re-use in cooking: for various dishes served on the half shell, so I'm trying to get them as odor-free as possible. So far I've scrubbed them with salt and vinegar, boiled them, soaked them in vinegar water, scrubbed with baking soda [on eBay or Amazon] . They still have an odor. If I bleach them, will they still be usable as food containers? Has anyone else done this?

Carolyn V Jones
- Baltimore, Maryland
2006

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Q. I am making crafts using shells. They have rust on them. Can you please tell me how to remove the rust and how to add luster to the shell?

Anit [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
2007

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Q. I have collected several shells, from the Great Lakes. I wanted to try to make into jewelry, but don't think they can handle a tumbler. How do you polish them.

Kristi Loving
- Redford, Michigan
2007

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Q. While vacationing in St Lucia, we purchased a freshly caught conch from a beach vendor.
The meat had already been removed, and he descaled it for us, but it needs to be deodorized.
I have had it soaking in, first, clean water, and then switched over to baking soda in the water in an effort to rid it of the smell, but to no avail as yet.
Can anyone please recommend the best way to de-stink the shell?
If bleach is to be used, what is the best measurement to observe?

Thanks in advance!
Kim

Kim McMillan
- Burlington, Ontario, Canada
May 12, 2008

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Q. I have several sea oyster shells that I am wondering how to not only get the smell out of them, but, to also get the beautiful mother of pearl. I have soaked them in bleach water now twice, but, they still have the smell. How do I get the outside of the shell off without ruining the mother of pearl?

Kathy Sevilla
- Clinchco, Virginia
September 21, 2008

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Q. I have a giant Tridacna shell that needs some attention. I'm not concerned with the exterior, but would like to clean and polish the interior. It's too large to hold up to a buffing wheel. It has possibilities to be quite handsome if it were cleaned and polished. All I've ever done to it is wash with a dilute bleach/water solution, and a stiff brush. It looks clean, but is kind of dull.

Gary Miller
Hobbyist - Ilwaco, Washington, USA
March 17, 2013

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Q. Hello, I want to decalcify mussel shells to flatten them to make lamps. Does anyone know how to do this?

Kay Hampton
- Timmins, Ontario, Canada
April 26, 2015

Came upon this site looking for a way to polish a shell I purchased from a black pearl dealer in Polynesia. I also snorkel & scuba dive as a hobby. I got some great ideas here but am appalled at some posts. One should not take living Coral or Conch's from the sea!! The oceans and their denizens are in great peril. They do not need to be further damaged by unknowledgeable, periodic interlopers. Do not touch anything with bare hands either. Thank you. Kathy Rodgers - Shawnee Mission, Kansas, USA   Hi Kathy. True enough! Thanks for the warning about touching things; mindlessness is an easily fixed fault. There are well over twice as many people on the planet as when I was young, and even then a lot of resources were being exhausted without us being conscious of it. What was once thought to be just a drop of water in an endless sea is now recognized as a serious problem. With ever higher population and ever dwindling resources, the world might one day soon decide that snorkeling & scuba diving are and were harmful. If that happens, I hope that people regard it simply as an error rather than being "appalled" ... we should try to be gentle on each other as well as on the natural world :-) Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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A. I have collected many shells so I've been testing ways to bring back shine. I've found washing with bleach, peroxide, baking soda, whichever you find best to clean/deodorize shells. Some needed soaking 24 hours or longer. I've not ever had a smell problem. Unfortunately coming home with a hermit crab does happen. He will die fairly quickly without salt water. I soak them in bleachy water and have my husband pull the dead animal out or you can place shell in pot of water bring to boil and the tissue will boil out. Ants doing the job would work great if you don't mind waiting. After drying, rubbing with an oil is essential for colors to return and make it shine. I've used my face cleaning oil with coconut and Aragon oils as well as Palmers oil...works awesome! Usually 24-48 hours later I paint polyurethane on them. Not just to make them extra shining but tough. They don't feel so fragile and will last years.

Shannon Stinson
- Freeport, Florida USA
April 11, 2016

!! That thing that some of you are referring to as "meat", isn't just "meat"! It is a live animal body. It is so so so cruel to me when I think that we human beings are so selfish that would go intrude into these animals habitats by diving or snorkeling, collect those living animals, kill them and remove them from their shells and then polish them to decorate our house or sell them for sake of some money. I understand that the live shells are not comparable to the dead ones in how nice they look, but same applies to humans as well! Neeku Sh - Dublin, Ireland Hi Neeku. It has always been a dog-eat-dog world, and I can't fault people who eat conch instead of chicken, or beef instead of pork, if they believe that animal protein is necessary for their own and their children's survival.The same with aborigines who used conch shells as horns for vital communications, religious symbols, or garment buttons. But cheers for vegetarians and vegans, kindness is king. Times are always changing, and today many of us lead lives of such easy leisure and freedom-from-want that we question whether conch shells may be used as decoration -- we no longer think ivory should be :-) Personally, I believe that deferring to the "feelings" of living things needs to be proportionate to their level of consciousness ... otherwise how can we justify killing a tick that is infecting our puppy, swatting biting flies that are driving a helpless horse mad, or protecting our children from malaria-carrying mosquitos? Love of animals is a wonderful thing! But people are the most conscious form of life that we know of, and if we use love of the lower animals as a justification for misanthropy we've got life backwards :-) Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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Q. Have read with interest how to clean up shells. Am hoping that the conch dweller "meat" was actually eaten and not discarded, as waste not want not, etc. Can anyone help with removing a horrid bright yellow stain from a large vintage mother of pearl bead ? It's from about the 1930's and is lovely apart from this awful stain that looks like dye. The nacre is a beautiful creamy natural colour and I don't want to bleach the bead white. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jules

Jules Cooper
- London England UK
June 16, 2016

!! My schooling and love of my life has always been Marine Biology. I dove in most of the recognized sites worldwide and many many more of the unknown sites. Cleaning a shelled invertebrate [salt water] that has recently been fished for food is easily done with 50/50 fresh water and bleach. It will take a couple days to get the smell out but be patient. Rushing it with muriatic acid is an incorrect path to take. Using a brush or pick after the shell has soaked is ok. Personally, I don't condone the taking of live sea life unless used for food. Conch BTW is quite good. There are plenty of shells recently discarded by local fisherman providing an abundance of shells for the collector. The only concession you must make is dealing with the small hole at the crown of the Conch, where the animal was removed. After at most one week, the smell should be gone. The ant solution was a new one to me but quite logical. Thanks for the info. To polish the mother of pearl layer I use 2000-4000 grit wet sandpaper and bring up the shine gently. Again patience is the key. Any organic oil that you would use on your body will bring back the gloss. I would not seal this layer with any inorganic solution like poly or lacquer. Regular oil maintenance similar to furniture care is sufficient. To finish the outer layer is another matter, a wheel with finishing compound is a good method. Soaking the outside with your chosen interior oil will help. I think it generous of people to post their solutions; however, taking live coral from the ocean is something to be embarrassed about. The whitening out of much of the world's reefs is a serious problem. A coral has a very narrow life support range in terms of temperature and salinity. Merely touching the exoskeleton (your collection) with a bare finger will kill the animal inside the skeleton. To give you a shot at developing an appreciation go on a midnight reef dive on a coral reef. When you see the abundance of fragile coral extended, waving in the ebb and flow and exposed, an impression should be made upon you. One that turns you into a protector instead of bone collector. It's never too late to learn and pass it on. Good luck on your collecting and showcasing but please make as small of a footprint as possible when visiting the UW world. John Pierson, Marine Biologist, PADI DCD retired training - Henderson, Nevada

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Q. I have a big white turban shell I got from flea market and it's a beautiful silvery pearl sheen under the thick white stuff. How do I get that off?

Trina Seiber
- Healdsburg, California
May 20, 2018

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Q. I purchased a carved conch shell in Pompeii, Italy. It was only after I unwrapped it that I smelled the horrible odor. If I put it in bleach will it harm the carving? What can I do to correct the smell problem? Thanks so much. Janie

Jane Cohen
- Atlanta, Georgia USA
June 26, 2018

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Food-safe coating for sea shells?

Q. Hi: I was wondering if someone might be able to help me. I am interested in finding out if there is a product that I can use that is food safe and easy to apply to the inside of cleaned out and sanitized oyster shells. I want to use them for salt and pepper vessels for my daughter's wedding. I want the finish to be clear so that the beauty of the inside of the oyster shows through. Any help would be so much appreciated. Also, if you have the name of a source of where I could purchase the product that would also be so much appreciated, as well. Thanks.

nancy lou
- towson, maryland
October 1, 2018

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Q. Need some help, I have a sea shell neckless that my Grandfather brought back from Hawaii at the end of WWII. It needs to be preserved somehow, anyone familiar with such a project?

Allen W Baldwin
- Clever, Missouri usa
April 22, 2019


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Q. Is there a way to cover the pin/needle holes on the shells. Water drips through them when it's filled.

chris nathan
- Washington dc
May 17, 2019

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Q. So I've been collecting shells for sometime now and I've recently made my own polish using beeswax [on eBay or Amazon] , however I'm wondering what I can possibly put into my mixture that will also take away the Calcium build up, I've used a hand moisturizer that once applied instantly takes away majority if not all calcium build up. Any suggestions?

Kaila Torres
- Honokaa Hawaii
February 5, 2020

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Q. I collected a few shells from razor clams on the WA coast that were probably recently eaten by gulls. They have a natural "varnish" layer on the outside (like "varnish clams"). After a couple of days, a whole section just peeled off, leaving the hardened varnish layer on about half of it.

Any ideas how to remove this brown layer?

Amy Roszak
Crafter and inventor - Poulsbo, Washington
November 3, 2021

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Q. Hi! I read through everything and didn't see much info about freshwater shells - except some brief info on river clams. Well, I live in Miami, and I'm trying to start a business where I repurpose shells, but freshwater instead of saltwater. (They are some species of Apple Snail)

The shells are ALWAYS empty, otherwise they go back into the water. Yes, snail shells are "ugly". But they are just a part of what I'm making. I need to make sure the shells won't smell (by the time I get them, all animal matter has been removed, and they usually don't smell anyways), are clean and shiny, and I don't want to use chemicals harmful to the environment. I've read about the use of muriatic acid, bleach, mineral oil, lacquer, etc. I've also read about different methods of buffing/polishing. My main question is, since the snail shells (I will also be using some freshwater mussel shells) are more delicate than, say, conch or clam shells, is there a different way to clean them? The snail shells especially are very thin compared to invertebrates found in salt water (some shells are quite large - about 5 inches across, but very thin) and can shatter very easily. Does anyone have any tips for these very thin, fine shells that won't harm the environment?

Rita Bentley
- Miami, Florida
January 19, 2022

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Q. I found a whole clam shell while snorkeling. The boat captain recommended lacquering it to keep it together. Is that a good idea, and what type of lacquer?

K Jack
- Denver, Colorado
April 28, 2022

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