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| Thread ID: 46033 | 2004-06-11 02:45:00 | Way Off Topic: Polishing Paua | karent (5222) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 243499 | 2004-06-11 02:45:00 | Afternoon all. Can someone tell me how I can polish some paua shells, please? And no suggestions about buying some sort of grinder, thanks. I have already had a suggestion to try steelo, but I am reluctant to do so because of the risk of scratching. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. | karent (5222) | ||
| 243500 | 2004-06-11 02:53:00 | Hmmm.......Reality pie,have a piece. Buy an electical buffer/polisher of some sort,you wont get any sheen on it with steelo. |
metla (154) | ||
| 243501 | 2004-06-11 03:09:00 | I'm assuming that you want to make the ugly outside of the shell a bit smoother, not polish the glossy inside. ;-) That will take something more effective than Steelo. In industry I think hydrochloric acid is used to disssolve some of the outer shell. This could be a bit exciting, and take some practice ... it would be very easy to go to far. :D A heavy duty wire wheel on a grinder would probably do it, but it would be easy to break the shell with the force that's needed. |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 243502 | 2004-06-11 03:12:00 | Abalone or paua shell jewellery: how to make it Instructions for taking raw paua shell from the beach into a jewellery quality product that can be mounted and sold or used as tourist souvenir. meme.essortment.com |
metla (154) | ||
| 243503 | 2004-06-11 03:26:00 | Hmmm... I didn't think it was going to be easy. And I'm not making jewellery, just trying to clean some up so my daughter can use them for her artwork. |
karent (5222) | ||
| 243504 | 2004-06-11 04:24:00 | We used to just rub it (the rough whitish colour outside) on concrete to polish it up - have a running tap/hose going to keep it moist. | somebody (208) | ||
| 243505 | 2004-06-11 05:19:00 | Following your tip about hydrochloric acid, Graham L, I have discovered that full-strength CLR removes most of the dull build-up on the outside of the shell. It has even gone through to the nice blue-green part in some places. Ta. | karent (5222) | ||
| 243506 | 2004-06-11 23:54:00 | Just one thing before you get polishing there Karent, Please wear a dust mask. Y'know those little white safety masks worn in industry? You can buy them at any hardware store. Paua is actually quite hard, and the small pieces that rise in the air as you polish can damage lung tissue if you breathe them in. I know you're doing only a little polishing, but having seen the results of similar products' effects I must encourage you to be safe and wear the silly mask. Better to look silly now than later find you were!!!! Good luck with the polishing - maybe try Brasso for the final polish? firebrix |
firebrix (5731) | ||
| 243507 | 2004-06-12 02:59:00 | Get the finest piece of sandpaper at the hardware shop to give it a light going-over (stress lightly) and if you can find a piece of old leather, eg the tongue from the inside of an old shoe, use that to buff it | Greg S (201) | ||
| 243508 | 2004-06-12 03:02:00 | > Get the finest piece of sandpaper at the hardware > shop to give it a light going-over (stress lightly) > and if you can find a piece of old leather, eg the > tongue from the inside of an old shoe, use that to > buff it I shoulda read the other posts first - it seems the shell imperfections are quite hard, so perhaps a coarser sandpaper to start with. And the advice about getting a cheapo mask sounds good |
Greg S (201) | ||
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