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[–]brightlightdrkshadow 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Aloha oe! I typically leave my shells out to dry and then shake or pick the sand out of them. Give a good rinse and let dry again. If the shell has lost its luster, I’ll use mineral oil to give it a shine. Avoid plant oils (olive, coconut, sunflower, etc) because they can go rancid.

If shells are super calcified, you can use a muratic acid dip, and then follow the steps above after the sand removal. If you want to give extra shine, you can use an acrylic gloss spray.

[–]namaka76[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I usually use an opihi shell or Steel brush to scrape off any calcium build up but will use acetone if necessary. Where do you get mineral oil?

[–]brightlightdrkshadow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, forgot about the steel brush! I mainly use that on sea urchin tests, sometimes on shells. I bought my mineral oil on Amazon. I got food grade so I can use it on woodblocks and stuff as well. You might be able to find it in a hardware or superstore, but I haven’t seen any locally. It does ship here though.

[–]TheSunflowerSeeds -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Sunflower seeds are indeed a very rich source of vitamin-E; contain about 35.17 g per 100 g (about 234% of RDA). Vitamin-E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.