Swimmable vs Non-Swimmable

[Mermaid Margarete]

Does anyone have a good list of swimmable and non-swimmable ocean products for accessories?

I've noticed while browsing premade ones that some state due to using a starfish in the design their accessory is "non-swimmable"

I'm praticuarly curious about sea urchins and sand dollars.

Thank you!

[AniaR]

there's already a sticky that shows all the known places to buy from http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2558-The-Official-Merfolk-Accessories-Store-List none of it's divided into swimmable or not, you have to go by individual pieces or maker. But honestly, I think many could be adapted for water use

[Mermaid Margarete]

That's an awesome list!

But I was actually asking as I'm wanting to make my own stuff and I wasn't sure what made certain things (such as a starfish) non-swimmable and wanted to know what else was considered non-swimmable.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Usually when stuff is not swimmable, it is because they will disintegrate in the water. You could always try google.

[Mermaid Margarete]

I've been trying to google it, but unfortuately it's not proving to be an easy topic to research. =\ I'm not coming up with anything with the searches I've done. Hmmmm... I can't even find why Starfish might be "Non-Swimmable"

[dini]

I think starfish that are dry and dead will absolutely start to stink if you get them wet again

[Mermaid Arianna]

when they are dried out and you get them wet they will dissolve,

[Mermaid Margarete]

Thanks! That answers my question as to "why"! :D

[Miyu]

Yeah, a lot of things will dissolve in salt water, even if it comes from the ocean... I believe pearls are amongst those things that aren't "supposed" to be swimmable, but some people do anyways (but they don't really dissolve so much as get worn away). All the sand dollars and starfish and seahorses I've handled seem to pretty fragile, esp. sea dollars, they seem so chalky! So they just "feel" like they're going to break/fall apart.

Hmm, if you really want them to be swimmable, go get thyself some marine resin... I believe the kind they use on the bottom of boats and things? Or some other high-grade waterproof resin. Then you can dip your pieces in it like you would with normal resin jewelery! After A LOT of swimming you *might* need to re-dip them, but I hardly imagine that swimming puts the same stress on the resin as a boat zooming through salt water...

[Ariel-Starfish]

I have starfish on my shell bra, and i sealed them with E6000 glue, but still need to test them out.

[Miyu]

I'm interested to know how that works! I keep hearing E-6000 is the wonder glue, I use it for bonding but haven't tried sealing with it yet as it seems so gel-y...

[Ariel-Starfish]

I'm interested to know how that works! I keep hearing E-6000 is the wonder glue, I use it for bonding but haven't tried sealing with it yet as it seems so gel-y...


Yeah everyone is telling me the same!
the glue is really thick and sticky; Now it feels like my shells and starfish are covered with a layer of gel :p Pretty weird but i ope it works! I'm gonna try another single starfish, to do some tests in the (chlorine)water :)

[Little_Orca]

I got some plastic starfish at a craft store. They look pretty nice and with a little bit of added paint they are a great addition to my top. (which I am remaking... again... *mutters about weight loss*)

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=5981&d=1346796916

[Miyu]

Ariel: I've always thought it left a gel-like residue... Whenever I use it for jewelery/leatherworking, I can easily peel off the "oopsie" bits. I wonder if Loctite would be better? I have the stuff in the purple tube, and it definitely makes my leather very stiff, much more than the E-6000 (which I use when I want my leather flexible). It also has more of a resin-like appearance when the "oopsies" dry, I have a harder time removing it... the only reason I've never used it for sealing is that it usually has little air bubbles in it, which may look neat with mer-things! Also, I learned that some things that get air bubbles (like whatever you use for sealing polymer clay, such as wood varnish), if you tap it a few times on a hard surface, it'll help the air bubbles rise to the surface.

[Miyu]

Little Orca: Your whole getup looks great! It makes me jealous... I'm particularly digging your shell necklace, I'm working on making a similar one out of a Moon Snail shell (Man, those things are crazy little critters, I have so many shells with perfect pre-drilled holes thanks to those guys!).