How to clean abalone shell for jewelry

Abalone shell is very beautiful with a mixture of colors, and can be easily found at beach. But they are often filled with dirt that reduces their luster. If you want make it for jewelry, you will have to clean it first to recover its sheen. The following instruction is about how to clean abalone shell for jewelry.
1. Put on your gloves and keep them on until you finish cleaning the shell.
2. Start cleaning from the inside of the shell. Use abalone iron (a tool used to free abalone from shells at harvest time) to loosen the meat from the shell. Then wash the inside of the abalone shell in cold water, and use a toothbrush to remove the remaining meat. After it is cleaned and dried, rub the surface with your finger to remove the minor dirt.
3. Clean the outside of the shell with a mixture of water and mild soap. Use a toothbrush to scrub the surface of the shells. Remove the sea creature like barnacles from the surface of the shell with abalone iron. Then use the toothbrush to wash it again.
4. In order to clean it more thoroughly, put the shell under the tap and washes it with running water.
5. Now that you have finished cleaning, use a brush to paint a layer of varnish on the outside. Don’t touch it until the varnish dries completely.
Now you can use the clean abalone shell for jewelry. The process of cleaning may be time-consuming, but you will find it worth the effort when seeing the finished beautiful shell.