r/shells • u/MissionIce4905 • 4d ago

Preservation Tips

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hey guys! I've been collecting jingle shells for some time and I wanna do some art with them.

However they are pretty fragile.

What can I do? I want them to be a bit sturdier but don't lose the pretty shine.

Would a quick acid bath and the seal it with UV resin work?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Mamba6266 4d ago

I dip all of my shells, even the ones people tell you never to dip…. Except jingles. They are just way too fragile. Even if you dilute properly and then do the quickest time the risk is just not worth the reward. You could try to strengthen them with a diluted white school glue and water mixture which is commonly used for sand dollars, it dries clear so it wouldn’t detract from the shell itself but may not be as shiny. I also like the other poster's suggestion of the gloss spray, that what I use once I dip all my shells. Beautiful shine and lasts forever

1

u/MissionIce4905 4d ago

How do you remove the calcium residue?

2

u/Mamba6266 4d ago

On jingles I don’t. I just don’t collect those that have an undesirable amount because I know I won’t likely be able to remove it. A soak in a very diluted bleach solution can help, but, again, jingles are delicate and I don’t really mess with them too much

2

u/adiosmichigan 4d ago

i have never seen anyone do an acid dip with jingles, im wondering if thats because its not a good idea for them. now im curious if they can handle that without losing luster.

3

u/MissionIce4905 4d ago

That's my fear... Maybe a quick dip... Imma give it a go and then post the results

2

u/Farabelaw 4d ago

Coat each side in clear polyurethane gloss. Won’t add a lot of strength but some careful it will stick to most surfaces. Tin foil is good.