Corn Cob vs. Walnut tumbling media- my verdict is in.

Ironbar · Nov 30, 2012

And the winner is corn cob!

I recently got a Thumler's Ultra-Vibe 10 tumbler, and with it came a fresh batch of corn cob media. I didn't have any cases to tumble, so I decided to experiment with some surplus Greek HXP .30-06 I had already tumbled in some fresh walnut media in a friend's tumbler.

The corn cob, with about a teaspoon of Mother's Mag Wheel polish in it, took the cases from just OK to looking like brand new brass! I didn't think cases could get this clean without the use of a rotating wet tumbler with stainless steel media.

I do however understand why folks would want to use crushed walnut for doing smaller calibers. The corn cob definitely has a larger granule size and could easily get stuck in smaller necked cases like .223 or .22-250.

On the left is the brass tumbled in walnut- good but not great. On the right is 50 rounds of brass from the same batch looking super-clean after tumbling in corn cob media.

Now I need to load up on some cheap bags of corn cob.

bballer182 · Nov 30, 2012

I've been running 50/50 fine walnut and corn cob on the de-lubing tumble of my 223. Works nice. But then again I'm not super into ridiculously bright cases either.

bullethead · Nov 30, 2012

I have been ordering corn cob from Drill Spot. Seemed to be the cheapest and the shipping is free.
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deadshot2 · Dec 1, 2012

I was faced with this question a while ago. Corncob? Walnut Shell? A mix of the two?

I solved my quandary and just changed to Stainless Steel Pins

Only reason I will ever have to buy more media is if I add a second tumbler.

bmgm37 · Dec 1, 2012

First off, I always use corn cob, Second....NEVER USE ANY POLISH CONTAINING AMMONIA! Ammonia which is corrosive and will weaken your brass. Any polish you add, make sure there is no Ammonia in it. While I have never tried it, I have read the Nufinish car was is the most popular to add to media. Myself, I use a polish that I make myself that I use on aluminum, chrome on my vehicles and toys. I mix up a batch about one a year and use it on everything. I have attached the recipe if anybody want to try it.....does great in media.

Ironbar · Dec 2, 2012

bmgm, can you please provide some information about Mother's containing ammonia? I have searched and searched and can find nothing on the web to indicate if it does or does not. Where did you hear/read this?

bmgm37 · Dec 2, 2012

Ironbar said:
bmgm, can you please provide some information about Mother's containing ammonia? I have searched and searched and can find nothing on the web to indicate if it does or does not. Where did you hear/read this?

OK, I will have to take that back. It looks like wrong about Mothers had it mixed up with something else, sorry. There are a lot of polishes that do contain ammonia and should be avoided.

I will say this though, the homemade polish is cheap to make and shines MUCH better than any store bought stuff. I tried this after I could never get the shine back on the rear Beadlock wheels of my sandrail as they are dulled out by the sand so bad. The homemade brew brings them back very quickly with little effort.

Ironbar · Dec 3, 2012

bullethead said:
I have been ordering corn cob from Drill Spot. Seemed to be the cheapest and the shipping is free.
<broken link removed>

I did this! Thanks for the link!

AMProducts · Dec 3, 2012

Your conclusion is similar to saying "a hammer makes a bad screwdriver", corncob and walnut are two different tools used for two different things.

Walnut is for deep cleaning removing heavy caked on black powder residue, oxides and other fouling, doesn't make brass shiny because it scratches it too much.

Corncob is like the diaper on your dad's ferarri, it burnishes the surface leaving it smooth and polished, however it will not clean up badly tarnished brass.

Steel pin, jewelry mix, and other wet tumbling mediums do a great job of cleaning the surface of brass, but you then need to apply a corrosion inhibitor otherwise your cases will tarnish again quickly. I have been using jewelry mix for cleaning brass, but I do this as a step to remove case lube (mixed with laundry soap), after which I dry it with forced air, and then dump it into a mixer with a carnauba wax protectant that keeps the brass from tarnishing for years.

deadshot2 · Dec 5, 2012

AMProducts said:
Steel pin, jewelry mix, and other wet tumbling mediums do a great job of cleaning the surface of brass, but you then need to apply a corrosion inhibitor otherwise your cases will tarnish again quickly.

Or just shoot more often and have your cases in a continual cycle of clean, load, shoot, clean.

I find that my cases don't tarnish any more or any faster than factory new. Depends on how much Sulphur compounds are in the air where you live.