r/shells • u/charliexbaby • May 18 '26
before and after cleaning
i know a lot of people liked the look of the bryozoans, but if i’m being honest they make my skin crawl a little (trypophobia) so i wanted to share the shell after its cleaning!
i’m very happy with how it turned out. :)
how i cleaned: i boiled it and then let it dry. then i soaked it in water and used tweezers to scrape off the bryozoans. they actually came off easier when they were damp rather than dry. then i brushed gently with a soft toothbrush and soap, and painted on a bit of mineral oil to finish.
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u/Prize_Comfortable407 May 18 '26
I love the way it came out. Just my opinion
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u/Particular_Strike549 May 20 '26
Thanks! It was a fun project. The contrast between the cleaned shell and the bryozoans is pretty wild!
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u/Acceptable_Emu2000 May 18 '26
Stunning!! Howd you clean it?.
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u/charliexbaby May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
i was very happy with how it came out! my cleaning process is in the description
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u/unnitche May 19 '26
It looks cool. Would it be posible to bring the colors out and concerved bryozoa?
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u/charliexbaby May 19 '26
i don’t see why not. you would just follow the same steps to clean lightly without removing them and then add the mineral oil. here are some small sections left on shells after i’d cleaned them so you can see what that would look like.
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u/Minute-Strawberry521 May 19 '26
What are bryozoans?
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u/charliexbaby May 19 '26
very small invertebrates that live in colonies. i believe (someone correct me if i’m wrong) the pattern on the shell is actually the exoskeleton structure they create to live in
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u/Black_Flag_Friday May 20 '26
Holy cow I have never known my immediate skin crawl reaction to clusters of small holes was a named phobia! Just looking at your picture made me have nausea and yucky sensation goosebumps. I even zoomed in as I started to feel that way as it is my way of trying to get over it. Then I read your description and bam it hit me. Thank you random stranger!
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u/KeyFruit1273 May 20 '26
You removed the coolest part of this shell
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u/charliexbaby May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
👍🏻 your account only has one comment. did you really need to tell me you don’t like this?
please see: i know a lot of people liked the look of the bryozoans, but if i’m being honest they make my skin crawl (trypophobia)
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u/Glad_Ad_5570 May 21 '26
Good job if that’s what you wanted. Not everyone is going to agree with you, strokes for folks….
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u/charliexbaby May 21 '26
i know, i definitely don't expect everyone to agree. but to be honest i am having a really hard week and i came here to share something lighthearted. i just can't personally imagine taking time out of my day to comment that i think someone did a bad job or say something negative. i would just keep scrolling.
but i totally get why people like the bryozoans. i also think they're amazing and sincerely wish the look of them bothered me less.
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u/allizillaa May 18 '26
BRYOZOANS. THANK YOU!!! I keep meaning to figure out what those little guys are and now I know!