Q&A for How to Clean Conch Shells

If the shell is artificially colored, it may lose its color. Add a tad bit of mineral oil to brighten up your conch shell if it has dulled during the cleaning process.

Oil will prevent paint from sticking to the shell, and oil paints will need to used instead. Sealing the shell can do the same if too thick of a coating is applied. If paint and sealant are both water-based, you can combine them and apply it in one step instead of two. Read product label or call their help hotline for an answer. Milk has calcium and can remove ingrained dirt by depositing calcium on the shell under the dirt, causing it to lift off. It may take several days, and the shell needs to be completely covered.

You can sand down the edges with sandpaper. A sapphire nail file can be an option. Treat the broken edge like a fingernail: file in one direction using the rough side, then the fine side. Like a nail, the shell is formed in layers, and it needs to be treated carefully to avoid breaking more of the shell.

Depending on the thickness of the white coating, it is possible to sand down the layer. There may be spots wherever there is an uneven surface. Soaking in a calcium carbonate solution will clear the white spots though it may take a while if the spots are deep. The bleach dissolves the shell material, while the calcium carbonate repairs the shell.

Any epoxy type glue can be used on shells. Super glue will also work, however, it may not hold well if the item is in humid conditions, Super glue holds by releasing water molecules and warm humid conditions can cause the glue molecules to separate by reconnecting to the water molecules.

The smell is from the animal that lived in the shell. Place it on an ant hill and allow ants to clean out the material. Another option is mix 1:3 mix of baking soda and salt and place it in the shell. Then place the shell in a bag in the freezer. This will dessicate (dry out) the dead material and should get rid of the smell. Clean out any material that is attached to the interior of the shell to prevent any further smells.

Mineral oil can bring back some of the color. There is no guarantee that the color will be as bright if it has been sun bleached.

Bleach is an acid that dissolves the shell so color and the shell layer will be permanently removed. Boiling a shell will not change its color unless there is a high mineral content in the water that could react with the shell material.

It depends on what you have planned for the shell. If you are short on time, or plan to add dye to color the shell, then using hot water can move the process along. If you are not in a hurry, a longer soak will work and can reduce damage to the shell.