Post
by kgbenson » Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:05 am
A few points:
To get a shine like we see on polished shells usually requires very, very, fine grit and if you don't want to spend hours at it, some power equipment. A dremel at the least, a buffing wheel or some-such would be even better.
Mineral oil vs Olive Oil. Tough call. In this instance, if the stuff is being buffed off really well I doubt there is a difference. Remember though, olive oil can go rancid (oxidize) and will grow some funky things. Spreading it out thin would increase the surface area and increase the rate of oxidation. A problem? I dunno. Mineral oil will not go rancid, but gobs of it on the gills would be a bad thing. Eating it is not a big issue, unless it is a chronic thing in fairly decent quantities, but oil and respiratory surfaces do not mix.
Banding - definitely a dremel with a grinding or sanding disk followed by buffing thing, unless you have a lot of extra time on your hands.
Beeswax: Know your source. Some beekeepers find it necessary to use materials in their hives to combat mites and other arthropod problems. These materials can build up in wax. Enough to affect a LHC? No one can say for sure, but the things are designed to affect other arthropods, and used improperly can certainly harm the bees (some would argue that they harm the bees even when they are used carefully but that is a different discussion). Since crustaceans share certain physiological mechanisms with insects, caution would be prudent.
Keith
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