How to Polish an Abalone

Never start working on an abalone shell without a proper respirator or dust mask, as well as some good ventilation. Always be safe when working with potentially dangerous material! That being said, don't afraid to work with them, just make sure to do it in a manner that ensures your own safety! The steps to polish an abalone are quite simple! It is a great way to make a piece that will catch everyone's attention, or "window" the shell to show what color you have to work with if you plan on cutting the shell apart for jewelry or inlay!

[@faerie_willow]

I had no idea you could make the outside look like this! Thanks for the guidance for my new weekend project! 😁

[@cristaldejarnac7919]

These are absolutely beautiful, I have never seen one polished before. Abalone is my favorite shell. You have given me so many ideas to try. Thanks 😊 Cristal

[@teresalaurentiawinterserra6038]

Thank you very much! I got one large Abalone, but is not polished, so I`m thinking now to buy a polishing machine. Your shell looks just amazing now!!!

[@stoneagelapidary4905]

They are very cheap

[@tomw5733]

​@@stoneagelapidary4905what are they called exactly?

[@paulinepatchett4462]

Absolutely 💯 love your channel. It's basic but informative. Your explanations are in layman's terms and I enjoy the actual continuation of the process. Thank you. I'm a rock hunter in New Zealand.

[@OceanzAway83]

Such a well done video. Very well informative and straight to the point.

[@MrsFazz68]

Simply Stunning ❤️

[@liveitlikeitloveall2746]

I found one of these in a 19th century dump here in Cincinnati Ohio.. I dig old glass bottles, pottery, etc, and came across this huge shell.. I’d say it’s about 8” by 10” ... I was going to leave it behind because we always find smaller oyster etc . shells In dumps, privys and cisterns.. But this thing caught my eye so I decided to bring it home.. I think I’m going to try doing this to it, having a couple Dremels and a flex shaft. I’m hoping it’s not going to crumble being that it’s so old..Hell, I may try putting it in my sand blasting box and see what the outcome will be..lol Thanks for your input.. especially how nasty the dust is..

[@sarejen6868]

Oooo nice! I'm currently working on my first and you gave good tips for the removal of the outer shell. Hard for me is the lip and near the spines, chicken to take too much off I think. BEAUTIFUL results, I wouldn't have thought of using the car glaze, thank you for sharing!

[@TheoKellison]

It definitely takes a bit of feel to figure out how deep you can go! The vents can definitely be tricky to excavate; it just takes a bit of practice! I'm sure your's will come out looking great! 😊

[@peryalcala]

Wow without a doubt Abalone is one of the most amazing magical things on planet earth. But please don’t hurt your health. I don’t know why I don’t have one yet!!

[@iamcalifornianna]

Thank you so much for mentioning about safety I was about to grab my tool and start working on it Without PPI thank you

[@femalehuckleberryfinn2478]

Fantastic video, thank you for the help! I tried the same idea with my regular drill and failed on my beautiful purple clam shells. You showed me exactly how I do it correctly and easily. Thanks!

[@sandmaker]

Wow simply beautiful. Thanks for sharing

[@SeashellSuppliesPhilippines]

Super amazing way of polishing these ablones. I hope we can see that personally in the future... we have millions of shells collection too 😉. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@eskimoraver1]

Beautiful

[@pauldavidson317]

Nice! I have a pile of these I collected and need to clean up

[@trippingonrocks1165]

Thank you for showing us each step, you have some cool tips like the car polish. I have happily subscribed, thank you 👍🏼🇳🇿

[@TheoKellison]

I apologize for not noticing this comment sooner! I am very glad to hear that you enjoyed it! 😊

[@trippingonrocks1165]

@@TheoKellison no apologies needed my friend. Just over here chilling 😊🙃

[@sixthsenseamelia4695]

NZ has an abalone called Paua. The shells are vivid blue pink purple iridescent. You'd love them 🌏

[@patriciamckean4186]

Beautiful work.

[@emrysplane7354]

That shell came so awsom

[@darrengosling2465]

Hi. Could you tell me what type of polishing wheel you use and what type of compound you use to polish please? Could you also tell me what you used near the end of the video where it shows an Orange tool on your bench? Was it wet and dry sandpaper? Thanks for a great informative tutorial

[@Jakethesnake7321]

Great video. I’ve done a lot of rock picking off the coast of Nor Cal and have lots of shells just waiting to be polished. Thanks for the great advice.

[@TheoKellison]

Thank you so much! I'm very glad that I could help in any way!!

[@michaelvandyke6715]

Excellent job ..

[@seajayballard2113]

WOW! Awesome video!

[@lottiemichell7664]

Hello am watching and find this very informative.

[@canisamator7937]

That is so darn pretty!

[@chipotley2150]

Hi thanks for the advice on the dust. I did not know that and was about to start polishing to test my new Dremel. Could you advise on the attachments you used eg. Size etc. Want to buy the right size. Thanks

[@daveha5783]

Wow this is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone pronounce abalone abalone-ee like where did the eee part come from? Haha great video tho and thanks especially for the car polisher part. Have a great day!

[@jennconspiracy]

it's a spanish word - so we pronounce the e - I've never heard anyone say "Abba-LOAN" until I started watching some of these videos.

[@ACDC4LIFE]

I pronounce it ... aBaloney like the lunchmeat. 🤣

[@jimmascaro2456]

I had the good fortune to find 35 of these (unpolished) at a jobsite & have them washed & in my garage. I have a respirator & a dremel & hope to give this a try. Your preferred flap sanding drums for your dremel - may I ask what grit/grits you'd suggest? B4 I order my bits let me be sure I have your sequence correct 1. Diamond burrs - assorted sizes 2. Flap sanding drums (grit?/grits?) 3. Sand paper 800, 1500, 2000 4. Mirror Glaze showcar glaze 7 Thank you very much Always wanted to do this. While in Tahiti I saw a backyard shop where a very talented individual took this a step further by carving them into sea turtle shapes & fashioning womens belts also carved angel fish & made mobiles with them. Stunning. They were in fact my inspiration to try this. Thx again.

[@abbienguyen2843]

Bought a pretty shell like this in SF for $49. Yowsa!

[@FincaElCasquillo]

Hello Theo. Very nice. I like this system more than muriatic acid. At the 7:08 spot you shifted to a different "tip" with the foredom. Can you tell me what you used? I also see you did the polishing steps with wet grit, finer and finer paper. Love it. The final seal is ...brilliant. Thank you for this.

[@ghostravenXX]

Thx Theo . Great Vid and you are 100% correct on the nature of abalone dust . Very nasty . Loved seeing the process as I am soon going to be polishing and cutting up a few of these myself . Want to use some for inlay in some of my carvings. Would love a video showing that process as well if you have done that before. If not I will just go back to the school of hard knocks.:}

[@TheoKellison]

Thank you so much! I'm very glad to hear that you liked the video! I can definitely make a video on inlay if it would help! My father is a luthier (guitar maker) and he uses the abalone that I prep for him in his bodies and fretboards, and I often inlay abalone into wood rings and carvings so I would love to detail the process of you would like! 😊

[@SurprizedDaily]

@@TheoKellison Great work & yes please do a video on the process and please include some of your dads guitars! That's how it supposed to & used to be, back in the day! Start to finish all hand made by the user or maker specific for the end user of the instrument, golf club, etc....100% hand made from start to finish! edit: would that meguiers work well on turquoise ? Or what do you know that'd be good for it? I been contemplating, bees wax, though I have only just began working with some.....great video & smooth tunes while we watched. both thumbs are up ...thank you

[@creativeroutine1473]

Super! Thank you!

[@doydoytv2302]

nice work 👌👌👌👌

[@antoniopassospoemas7618]

Thanks

[@surfdaze]

I live in San Diego California and I want to start polishing some of my shells to make some nice art pieces for my house. Can you give me an idea of what type of bits you use, and then what type of sand bit you used? Thanks in advance :)

[@TheoKellison]

I am so sorry that I didn't notice this comment sooner! I was using an assortment of diamond burrs to remove the outer shell, some thinner ones for the tight spots and some robust ones for more heavy lifting. And the sanding bit I was using was one of my favorite bits for my dremel, and that is a flap sanding drum. They come in a variety of grits and work wonderfully because the conform to contours so they're perfect for this kind of application. As for sand paper, I used a few varying grits to get the best polish: I start with 800 grit to make sure the scratches are entirely gone, and then switch to 1500 grit, and then 2000 grit, all of which I sand wet. Hope this helps!😊

[@sandgod007]

@@TheoKellison do you use electricity or air compressors for your tools? I'm gonna try making a few of these. I also grab shells with holes and fill them with sea glass found at beaches. I turn them into night lights.

[@TheoKellison]

@@sandgod007 my rotary tool runs on elecricity and has a foot pedal, which gives me more control as far as turning speed than air does. And those sound very cool! These abalone look great for that purpose once they get the outer shell removed; they glow extremely well and are astonishingly heat resistant so they would be perfect for night lights!

[@barbaraalvstad8640]

Beautiful 🐬What bits, grits, and rpm do you use? Did you grind down to the white layer first? Or blue layer? Mine are taking forever....Thanks

[@petrkolman641]

I love abalone shell.

[@russsherwood5978]

WOW !!! where did you find / get that shell? beautiful, i already have the tools from stone carving, dremal and diamond bits, just need to find them shells,,,, do you think this would work with clam shells ? just subbed and thumbs - up, be safe, be strong, be free, be blessed

[@TheoKellison]

I get my abalone from various sources, surprisingly Etsy seems to be the best place as far as variety and price. I live in Montana so they are just about impossible to find locally. And this will absolutely work with clams; they don't have the same pearly color as abalone but I use this method to polish quahog clams all the time! It really brings out their deep purple color. Thank you so much for the sub and for taking the time to watch and comment; it truly means a lot!😊

[@chachcadi271]

Damn, I've got all the shells but none of the tools. I live in California and occasionally go on dive trips to the Catalina Islands. I only come back with about 20 shells per trip, and only about 5 nice ones.

[@johnt.9926]

To Gradechecker1, Yes it is very dangerous to breath and wearing a good respirator is very important while cutting, sanding any type of shells dry, not only the fine dust is bad to breath into your lungs it is toxic as well, When doing this type of work you might want to consider finding a nice quite spot out in the yard or patio and set up a little work station with all the tools you will be needing to complete your project, and with no children or pets near by or at least not down wind from the blowing airborne dust, When finished you can sweep up and collect the dust and put it in a plastic bag or zip lock bag and seal it and set it inside the trash, don't just toss the dust in your trash can. Any remaining dust can be hosed down with water safely into the yard and or dirt planter. And again as Theo Kellison mentions above, there is no need to worry when cutting and or sanding abalone as long as your wearing a functional dust mask or respirator when working it dry/or without using water. If you take your time, experiment on broken abalone shell(s) first with the diamond bits, best speeds to use (RPMs) etc. I'm sure you'll end up with a beautiful abalone treasure shell! Take Care! JohnT GemCutter oF Precious Stones

[@hazerdmonkey]

John T. U

[@stacybluesky]

Hello, tell me, what did you cover the shell with in the end so that it was so glossy?

[@putusutama6771]

Apa nama obat untuk mengkila pkannya.dan apa nama mesin gerindanya saya mau mencoba untuk mengerjakannya terimskasih sudah memberikan vidio

[@jessejames4400]

What is the rotary tool you are using and what size shank on the bits?

[@greatgambino]

Is there anything that can be used to protect the inner shell from fading when exposed to light?

[@katiejoartsy1540]

Looks beautiful! I’m wondering though what is it you use at the end With the cloth? What kind of solution is that that you’re dipping the cloth in? And is it a specific type of cloth?

[@bmagg2564]

I'd love to try and do the same one day. I've been curious about the polishing process for a long time. How much time did this shell take for you to polish? The colours are so beautiful, especially the mauves. Thank's for this video.

[@TheoKellison]

I am so sorry that I didn't notice this comment sooner! With the right assortment of diamond burrs, it is a very fast project; this shell took me about an hour and a half from start to finish so it really goes by quick. Glad you enjoyed, and hope this information helps!😊

[@weareinthelastdays2557]

I really appreciate this video. I’m doing a custom wall art piece with 52 of these shells and didn’t know what to do. But this solved allllllll my problems 🙌

[@weareinthelastdays2557]

@@TheoKellison thank you for the wonderful video. Truly a gem

[@anthonyguerrero9084]

Awsome video! What species of abalone is it? Where do they come from? It looks very different from the species Im used to seeing here in San Diego.

[@cynthiajohnson953]

What type of polish/varnish are you using in that bucket to polish the inside of the shell with? To give the shine? Also, what type of cloth is it that you are using?

[@dreampolice666]

Wow! I have a really hard time finishing my pink abs, I just use a wire brush and muriatic acid. I usually consider them done when they get to the stage yours started at in the video. This is dumb but what type of tool are you using? And where can I get one!!!!!!! Awesome video

[@TheoKellison]

Thank you so much! And definitely not a dumb question at all!😊 the tool I'm using is a flex shaft rotary tool and an assortment of diamond burrs and sanding drums. You can find all three at harbor freight or Amazon for very reasonable prices too. Any dremel style carver works well but the flex shaft is easier to work with and is much more durable, and you can find really good ones that range from 40-75 dollars, and you can find assortments of diamond burrs that come with a wide variety of bits that average around 5-20 dollars depending on how many come in the assortment. It may sound a bit spend but the flex shaft will last a lifetime and you can get multiple years out of the burrs!

[@dreampolice666]

Theo Kellison thank you!!!:):) I’m so glad you posted this. I find green and red abs really easy to work with but the pinks have always thrown me for a loop with all their big grooves. I’ve never seen one processed so beautifully, incredible work! Seriously! 🤩💫⚡️

[@TheoKellison]

@@dreampolice666 thank you so much! 😊 it genuinely means a lot to hear that! 😊

[@putusutama6771]

What the nime material mesin for mike clean up

[@pauloibanez4273]

What kind of bits are those?

[@jozefcavis6150]

❤❤❤❤

[@amadaaraya3796]

Cómo ver las instrucciones en español

[@Ant_Man211]

How can someone make small inlays with the abalone? Anyway to make it flat?

[@4sandoval88]

What drill bits did you use?

[@l0z586]

Pls pin this. For anyone trying to scrape and polish abalone, *wear gloves and a mask as powder from abalone shells are very harmful and don’t inhale it or handle it with your bare hands.*

[@sfbluestar]

There is no liquid you can soak the shell in, or contact the outer shell with, to eat away the boney layer?

[@TimothyClaassens]

You can try acids. They work rather well, but stain or damage the mother-of-pearl as a side effect. Keep a close eye when trying the acid approach :)

[@farhanaali2726]

Beauty💙💜💚💙💗💜💜💜

[@blackendtears1]

No!! You sanded and then wiped it off with something or kept dipping it in something then rubbing the shell…before the Polish part. What was it?!

[@mjade1673]

😍😍🌞 Im new to the channel... do you guys sell online anywhere? Thanks (:

[@charliehobbs7968]

Great video but I have only one complaint. 1/4 of the time filming you drifted off camera. 😬🙀

[@TheoKellison]

I do apologize about that! You'll have to cut me a little bit of slack though😅this was only the second video i had ever made for my channel; framing and pacing are something i have improved a lot over time now that ive been doing it for two years👍 it's honestly a video i want to remake, as i think i could make a much better video on the subject now that i actually know what im doing😅 i appreciate your feedback!

[@trptrungblogs]

👍👍👍👍❤️

[@Gradechecker1]

Would dipping the shell in water with a drop of dishwashing soap have helped keep the dust down and lubricated the shell a little better, because it turns out beautiful, but all that dry airborne dust looks dangerous. ❤

[@johnt.9926]

To Gradechecker1, Yes it is dangerous to breath and wearing a good respirator is very important while cutting, sanding any type of shells dry, not only the fine dust is bad to breath into your lungs it is toxic as well, When doing this type of work you might want to consider finding a nice quite spot out in the yard or patio and set up a little work station with all the tools you will be needing to complete your project, and with no children or pets near by or at least not down wind from the blowing airborne dust, When finished you can sweep up and collect the dust and put it in a plastic bag or zip lock bag and seal it and set it inside the trash, don't just toss the dust in your trash can. Any remaining dust can be hosed down with water safely into the yard and or dirt planter. And again as Theo Kellison mentions above, there is no need to worry when cutting and or sanding abalone as long as your wearing a functional dust mask or respirator when working it dry/or without using water. If you take your time, experiment on broken abalone shell(s) first with the diamond bits, best speeds to use (RPMs) etc. I'm sure you'll end up with a beautiful abalone treasure shell! Take Care! JohnT GemCutter oF Precious Stones

[@shannonhays3833]

I hope you used a filter the dust from the shell can really mess up your lungs and cause long term problems

[@CrystalCat24]

Thank goodness he brought it up a few times throughout the video. I had no idea and I have 22 shells to sand!!

[@betht2187]

I've got one that I would like to have polished but I have never done anything like that. Any advice on it? I would only be doing this one. Thank you!

[@wave._.hunter]

I have hundreds of unpolished abalone shells sitting in my garage

[@CrystalCat24]

WOW! You should sell some! I'd be interested if they are bigger! My collection is medium size for the most part.

[@wave._.hunter]

@@CrystalCat24 I have all sizes. My dad’s friend was an abalone fisherman. His family was going to throw the shells he had been collecting out when he passed away, but my dad saw that they were throwing them away and asked for them

[@Guants2012]

How long did this take you?

[@TheoKellison]

It depends on the size and species of the abalone but generally between an hour or two; I believe I had about an hour and 45 minutes on this particular one

[@Guants2012]

@@TheoKellison Copy, I have about 20,000 pounds of them...Been thinking about trying that.

[@XiaoxiZhang714]

Could you write down the name of those bits you used to polish? Thanks!

[@samanthasimental3788]

Why not just soak it in muriatic acid or vinegar.

[@AnEerieWorld]

I saw your unprotected nose while you were dusting 🤔

[@TheoKellison]

Nope, it was not my nose; if you are referring to 1:26 that is actually the red bill of my hat👍 if you pause you can see it a bit more clearly. Abalone is some nasty stuff and I would never touch one without my respiratory on😄

[@liveitlikeitloveall2746]

You should try snorting a fat line of this miracle dust before knocking it.. Geez.

[@Michael-ps7ji]

What kind of burr is that?

[@robertbolding4182]

polish underwater

[@bubblegumplastic]

Would you be willing to polish mine for a fee, if I sent them to you? I have two. Thank you for your time.

[@TheoKellison]

I am so sorry that I didn't notice this comment sooner! I usually get notified when I get comments but I didn't for this one for some reason. I would be happy to, depending on the shells! If they are too thin they won't be able to be polished, as they will become very fragile. If you would like to send me an email, I would be more than happy to talk more about it and see what I can do for you! You can find my email in the About Me section of my channel page!

[@CrystalCat24]

This is a wonderful idea! I'll email you to see if the offer still stands.😉

[@rogerparkington3837]

buy them online from New Zealand ready polished and laquered for about $10. They are the most beautiful colored shells in the world. The one shown wasn't one of the best.

[@jenniferperez3772]

What's the website?

[@rogerparkington3837]

@@jenniferperez3772 I used silverfernz.com. I googled 'abalone shells new zealand' and there are a lot of sites mainly selling jewelery but this one sells the complete shell and they do all the preparation for you. Good luck! Roger.

[@jenniferperez3772]

@@rogerparkington3837 Thank you for the info Roger. Happy Holidays!

[@funnyanimals886]

i think this way is so unnatural

[@CrystalCat24]

What do you mean by unnatural? I'm just curious, as I thought the same thing but about using acid.

[@Sayonara301]

Beautiful