Corn cob vs walnut media for vibratory Tumbler?

[Orcon]

NO!!!! Brasso uses ammonia. Ammonia weakens brass.

Yeah it can but considering the exposure time and amount used, it's a non-issue. I wouldn't suggest letting brass sit in the stuff for long periods of time but I've got 308 brass that regularly makes it in excess of 15 reloads before the primer pockets fail. I've yet to see any issues related to de-alloying caused by the ammonia in brasso. Like I said just a dab, it's less than a dollop but slightly more than a skosh.

 

[troy fairweather]

Thanks for all the info guys, anyone clean nickel brass, I have a few firings left on my Winchester 7wsm brass. Anyone ever try small metal parts.

 

[gonoles_1980]

I get my crushed walnut from the pet shop, used for lizard bedding. I use the walnut for my first cleaning, and then I use the corncob with Franklin polish after I've de-primed and sized the casings.

 

[GW Staar]

Wet tumble now, but when I dry tumbled I decided walnut cleaned better and corncob polished better.....

Debated on spending the money for a wet tumbler, I thought how much better can it be? Answer is yes it is $150 better.....

Walnut vs corncob.....that's what I discovered too. Corncob takes more time, the grittier walnut is faster the way 100 grit sandpaper sands faster than 400 grit, but you'll never get the polish of corncob with walnut.

Mixing the two? When you want the smoothness of 400 grit sandpaper would you alternate swipes with 100 grit? You'll just add roughness and scratches. However, if you have really grungy stained brass, I can see tumbling first with walnut til clean, than changing the media to corncob and polishing for a couple of hours......but if you can leave corncob alone for 8 hours you never make the scratches to begin with that makes the brass clean but not bling. Corncob does require polish....as I said, I like the Dillon polish.

I'm with Dudedog, on wet tumbling......I prefer it for some things....like a big box of grungy,deprimed LC brass for example (pictures below)....and look at the pistol brass behind it....inside looks the same as outside..........sometimes on lazy summer days.....the extra effort is just worth it....lightens my mood and impresses my friends. Loads and shoots........ah.....the same.

 

[CptnAwesome]

I use corn cob with a few drops of polish. I've always heard walnut cleans better but corn cob polishes better. That's just what I've read, I've only used corn cob and have been happy with the results

 

[Phlier]

As other guys have said, I'm of the opinion that walnut cleans faster, corn cob gives a better shine. Nu-Finish (really cheap car polish) really ups the game of either media type.

I primarily wet tumble now, but if I want the ultimate bling on a batch of brass, it'll get a couple hours in corn cob media, Nu-Finish, and a couple cut up drier sheets. I use quite a bit more Nu-Finish in my media than most guys do, though, as I really like how slippery it leaves the brass. And the combination of an extra glob of car polish with the drier sheets really helps to keep the cases from coming out dusty.

I also throw a full drier sheet in the media separator. It does a great job of getting the residual dust off of the brass as the media is separated out.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I use the lizard walnut litter with car polish, 1 capful of mineral spirits and cut dryer sheets. I like to use universal decapping die 1st before cleaning, if brass is very dirty I also have a ultrasonic cleaner that I use with Dawn and lemishine. I have disassembled my dies and run them in the walnut hulls.

 

[hdbiker]

Walnut, seems to clean faster, add a couple used dryer sheets to help control dust. Harbor Freight has 25 pounds boxes for under 25 bucks. hdbiker

 

[deadeye dick]

I use walnut, seems to work just as well as the corncob. Use a dab of brasso and car polish per batch. The brass gets so shiny, I can see my future in it.

Brasso is no good for brass as it contains ammonia which makes brass brittle. Use Nufinish or something that doesn't contain ammonia

 

[labnoti]

I strongly recommend against dry tumbling dirty fired brass because of lead-contaminated dust.

I have both corn cob and walnut which I can use in a dry vibratory tumbler to polish brass. I have not noticed a difference in the results. The corn cob is lighter weight and flys around with static charges.

There was an inquiry about tumbling small metal parts. Corn cob and walnut are soft and will not have much effect on hard metals like steel. I have tumbled bronze parts. I started with a media consisting of little ceramic pyramids with silicon carbide in a water slurry. This is wet-tumbling in a vibratory tumbler. On a relatively soft metal like bronze it will remove sharp edges and burs, and it leaves a matte finish. I tried to polish the bronze with walnut and then corncob, but even after several days the result was weak. I ended up using Simichrome or Flitz. This was for about two dozen parts. If it was just a couple parts, I would have certainly just gone straight to hand polishing. For harder metals like stainless steel, the silicone carbide will still work, but walnut or corncob would be pointless. I would just go to the buffing wheel with one of those green compound bars whatever they are.

 

[kmw1954]

I'd like to do the wet but this rcbs is brand new and free. I'll probably just go to the pet store and for the walnut if I decide on that. I still can't see why someone would throw a brand new tumbler out. Maybe some old guy died.

Troy I do both to an extent. I throw my pistol brass into a large plastic jar until it is about 1/2 full, then Fill it up with as hot of water as I can get until the brass is covered in water. Mix in some dish soap and about a 45acp full of Lemishine and seal it up. I'll then go to the computer and cruise the forums while I roll the jar full of brass back and forth on the floor, occasionally picking it up and shaking it too. About the time I'm done on the forums I'll dump the brass and rinse in hot water once again. From there it goes into a toaster oven set at 200* for 30 min. and I leave it there until it cools enough to pick up by hand. From there it goes into my Cabela's vibrator with cob and their polish for about an hour or so. From there it goes into plastic containers for storage.

No I do not use stainless pins and yes I wash with the primers still in..

 

[gunlaw]

I use corncob. Ordered my last batch form amazon. Put a used dryer sheet in to keep the dust down

 

[12Bravo20]

Add one more to the list that uses a mix of corn cob and crushed walnuts. I also use a capful of NuFinish (or similar) along with several small pieces of dryer sheet.