Original
Forum Question : I have a question about storing of seashells.
I use some small wood boxes that have been used to store bottles of
Wine. My seashells are directly put in it on a piece of fitted carpet.
What do you think about this ?. Is it good for a long storage ?
It depends
largely on two factors - the type of wood the boxes are made from,
and the relative humidity of your storage area. Many woods slowly
release acid vapors which can be destructive to shells over the long
term. Oak is probably the worst. However, moisture is also important
because the acids are released only in the presence of water, and
the rate of acid release is proportional to the amount of moisture
available. Shells stored in an oak cabinet in a humid environment
often develop a powdery residue which is especially apparent on glossy
shells like cowries and olives, though it is also present on other
kinds of shells. This residue is actually the chemically broken down
surface of the shell. The condition is often referred to as "Bynes's
Disease". In non-oak cabinets, or in conditions of lower humidity,
this process happens more slowly. But wood in general is best avoided..
(Answer by M. Paul Monfils via the Forum)
Recovering
bleached Cypraea ?
Original
Forum Question : I rencently
accidentally sink 2 Cypreae with other shells in bleach and they came
out terribly awful, their nice shiny surface turned into a chalky
white color... Any idea on how to recover (at least a bit) of their
original aspect?
I think
it's really too late and I never eard of any solution to recover the
natural glossy appearence of cowries (and other naturally polished
shells)...
(Answer by Touitou David via the Forum)
How to
clean shells ?
Original
Forum Question : How do you
clean regular sea-shells without bleach? (I like the colors!) DO you
just rinse them in water or is there something special you should
do?
Bleach
is the best all around cleaning solution for shells. It doesn't harm
the colors of the shells. It does remove periostracum, but on a shell
with periostracum you can't see the colors anyway. Still, some serious
collectors do like to have some specimenas with periostracum, and
such specimens have to be cleaned without bleach. Bleach also removes
many kinds of encrusting organisms as well as algae, ordinary mud
and dirt, and most importantly, it removes any remaining soft parts
of the animal from within the shell, thereby avoiding unpleasant odors.
You don't have to use the bleach full strength. 1 part bleach to 10
parts water is sufficiently strong for most cleaning jobs. But stronger
solutions can be used without harm to the shells. There are some exceptions.
I don't use bleach on very thin, translucent shells, or on shells
with a nacreous interior like pearl oysters and abalone. If you are
nervous about using bleach, try it on a few less desirable specimens
until you gain some confidence in the technique. After bleaching,
just flush with water inside and out, and dry.
If the whole animal is in the shell, it
has to be removed before using bleach. The usual ways of accomplishing
this are:
cooking - start with room temperature
water, put the shells in, bring to near boiling, then cool gradually.
Avoid sudden temperature changes, or the shells may crack. Don't
drop them into near boiling water, and don't remove them from very
hot water and immediately rinse them with cold water. After cooking
and cooling, the animal can usually be shaken or flushed or picked
out of the shell with a narrow sharp instrument.
freeze/thaw - overnight in the freezer,
then thaw at room temperature, after which the animal can be shaken/flushed/picked
out of the shell.
microwave - some collectors like this
method. I have tried it a few times. It's fast, and it seems ok
for reasonably solid shells. But more fragile shells are likely
to crack/break/explode, in my experience. put the shells inside
a plastic container to prevent snail parts spattering all over the
inside of your microwave.
Original
Forum Question : I recently found some shells on my honeymoon in the
Carribean and need some advice on cleaning. The first is a cowrie
that I found while snorkling. It is dead and has no meat inside of
it, but it is encrusted with hard coral. I have always read that you
need to be careful when cleaning cowries, but I have never found any
advice on how to clean them. The second is a sea biscuit that was
found freshly dead (I had to scrape some of the spines off it). I
imagine that it could be put into a bleach solution, but I do not
want to bleach it white and lose it's dark color. Any advice on cleaning/preserving
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!
Yes that cowrie is certainly
in need of some cleaning! The problem in removing this kind of calcareous
encrustation is that it is composed of the same material as the shell
- calcium salts - and therefore any chemical that will dissolve the
encrustations will also dissolve the shell. So chemical cleaning methods
are out. Only physical methods can be used on something like this.
That having been said, it is possible, depending on the type of encrustation,
that a pretreatment with bleach will loosen or soften the encrustations
somewhat, making subsequent physical methods a bit easier. This is
because such encrustations often have a small proteinaceous component,
and the bleach will dissolve out the proteins though it won't dissolve
the actual calcium salts. With or without pre-bleaching, physical
methods must follow. If you have access to one, I would first try
an ultrasonic cleaner, to see how much of the encrustation will be
removed by that means. If any of it comes off, continue to use the
USC for a longer period of time. After that, if some of the white
stuff still remains, patient picking with a sharp tool or scraping
with a small sharp blade is about the only way of getting the stuff
off, bit by bit. Most likely the gloss of this shell is already damaged,
and no matter how carefully you clean it, it won't look like a live-taken
cowrie.
Now, the sea biscuit -
The test (shell) of this animal is actually white. The dark color
is due to a layer of microscopic brown spines attached to the test,
and associated muscle fibers and other soft tissue. Using bleach
removes all the spines and tissues, and leaves just the white test.
However, if you want to keep the specimen "natural", it
isn't difficult to do. I usually soak such specimens in formalin
for a few days, then alcohol for a few days. But I realize not all
people have access to formalin, and also it is smelly and irritating
and somewhat toxic. If you do have formalin and know how to use
it, I believe that gives the best preservation. However, good results
can also be obtained using alcohol alone. In that case, soak the
specimen in alcohol for about a week, changing the alcohol at least
once, after the first couple of days. Ethyl alcohol is best but
isopropyl alcohol is adequate. Avoid methyl alcohol, which is sold
as shellac thinner. The alcohol concentration should be at least
70%. "Rubbing alcohol" from the pharmacy works satisfactorily.
Once the specimen is preserved
in the alcohol, it can be removed, drained, and then dried thoroughly
in a warm, dry area. Outdoors is good, weather permitting, but it
can be dried indoors too. However, in specimens prepared in this
way the spines are not too securely attached to the test, and tend
to gradually fall off, especially if the specimen is handled much.
So I use an additional procedure to prevent that. I remove the specimen
from the alcohol, soak it in water overnight to remove the alcohol,
then soak it in 10% Elmer's Glue-all (10% glue, 90% water) for a
couple of hours, then drain and dry. The glue dries invisible, but
strenghtens the spine-to-test attachment. Other brands of white
glue, like Sobo Glue, are equally good. (Chemically this is polyvinyl
acetate). If you use glue, dry the specimen on a non-stick surface
like wax paper, so you don't end up with the specimen glued to whatever
surface it is lying on.
(Answer by M. Paul Monfils via the Forum)
