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Posted: 8/11/2022 10:58:52 AM EDT
[#1]
I change my corn media out when it just appears really dirty and there’s a film left on the brass that transfers to my fingers. If I’m tumbling to clean brass and it only works to a certain extent, then I’m wasting time.
The “how often” really depends. Am I cleaning brass used in a suppressed host? Because 5 batches of that will foul up the media way faster than 10 batches of unsuppressed use brass |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 11:54:58 AM EDT
[#2]
When it starts to lose effect and adding NuFinish no longer helps, I change it out. I have a timer and only tumble cases for 4 hours.
There would be no set hours for changeout, because the level of filth on your brass would be a variable. Corncob wouldn't clean for shit when I used it. The rouge coated stuff is worse than the plague. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 12:04:37 PM EDT
[#3]
The proportion of sand and gravel increases in mine until the brass comes out looking sand blasted. Changing the media brings back that nice mirror shine. No noticeable difference in ammo functionality though.
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Posted: 8/11/2022 12:23:36 PM EDT
[#4]
With use, the media picks up a lot of case lube. It deposits some of this on your brass when tumbling.
Actually, I like this, to a point. The media abrades the dirt off the brass but leaves behind a microscopically thin layer of lube. This inhibits tarnishing a bit, compared to the bare brass you get from wet tumbling or virgin walnut media. At some point, it is just time to swap it out. You'll know when. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 12:37:44 PM EDT
[#5]
I wash my media every couple years. I put a batch in a 5 gallon bucket fill it to cover the media and add dish washing detergent agitating it with my hands
I rinse it with a hose allowing it to overflow. The water starts out black and gets lighter then eventually near clear. I dry it on a sheet of plastic in the sun (Low humidity and 0 chance of rain helps) After I tumble brass and remove the media I use a leaf blower to get dust off then I use an old cotton T-shirt to wipe the brass of any residue I do not tumble brass that has sizing lube on it. I remove that with lacquer thinner rather than ruin the media for cleaning brass and gumming up the tumbler |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 12:48:04 PM EDT
[#6]
I get a 40lb bag of crushed corn cob from Zoro Tools for about $35 shipped. I think I just started my third bag in over nine years.
When it gets dirty, I just toss it. Wipe the tumbler out, put some fresh in, add some Nu-finish and let it run with the lid off for a couple hours. Good for several more months. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 1:22:45 PM EDT
[#7]
I change my corn cob when it quits removing the lube.
Wet tumbling pins don't need changing. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 2:06:38 PM EDT
[#8]
Media is corn cob 14/20grit is cheap when bought in bulk (grainger mcmaster-carr). My general rule of thumb is my brass should nicely done after 2 hrs with corn cob.
I used Flitz, Dillon Polish, or Iosso case polish. I keep a batch of walnut separate for really gross stuff and for removing case lube. Buy @ wally world as Lizard Litter (crushed walnut). DO NOT BUY CORN COB @ Wally World or other pet places. It is way too big. Need the 14/20 grit. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 2:14:23 PM EDT
[#9]
Yeah, I probably bought the wrong corn cob. Luckily my neighbor reloads and was happy to get it.
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Posted: 8/11/2022 3:03:51 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When it starts to lose effect and adding NuFinish no longer helps, I change it out. I have a timer and only tumble cases for 4 hours. There would be no set hours for changeout, because the level of filth on your brass would be a variable. Corncob wouldn't clean for shit when I used it. The rouge coated stuff is worse than the plague. Same here regarding adding Nu-Finish. I've had better results with walnut than corncob. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 3:37:31 PM EDT
[#11]
Old dirty still works but I am positive it takes longer. Fresh cuts to clean brass batter.
To remove some of the filth I would put squares of water wetted paper towels and run them in the media. They’d be filthy black with burned powder dirt. I finally lost the motor on my 1980s vintage vibratory tumbler. 
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Posted: 8/11/2022 5:44:52 PM EDT
[#12]
I switched to pins and will never look back.
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Posted: 8/11/2022 5:49:25 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I switched to pins and will never look back. Bingo. Dry tumbling is potentially hazardous and slow. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 5:55:15 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I switched to pins and will never look back. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 5:58:09 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Bingo. Dry tumbling is potentially hazardous and slow. Wet tumbling for cleaning. Too much bother for lube removal. |
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Posted: 8/11/2022 6:38:57 PM EDT
[#16]
I've been using the same corncob media for 15 years. Just toss an old dryer sheet in when you tumble and the media never gets dirty.
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Posted: 8/11/2022 6:40:59 PM EDT
[#17]
I've been using the same corncob media for 15 years. Just toss an old dryer sheet in when you tumble and the media never gets dirty.
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Posted: 8/11/2022 7:06:03 PM EDT
[#18]
I have both wet and dry media tumblers and although I have both corncob and walnut I use the walnut almost exclusively. I like to run dirty brass in the walnut (treated with NuFinish and mineral spirits) for 30 minutes to an hour to get them basically clean for decapping/resizing then wet tumble for bling.
Corncob is used for lube removal. I change out walnut about 3 times a year. I buy the fine grade at HFT it's pretty cheap and won't clog flash holes should I decide to decap it first. |
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Posted: 8/12/2022 8:37:44 AM EDT
[#19]
A few times over the last years I've noticed still dirty brass coming out of the tumbler. So I put it back in and run it another 3 or 4 hours. It comes out dirty as it was before.
Okay, time to change to a new batch of crushed walnut shell media. That fixes it. |
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Posted: 8/12/2022 9:35:07 AM EDT
[#20]
I add a few things to my media that I buy from Grainger.
About a handful of brass shavings from trimming cases (mainly 223-300 Whisper) to add to the "abrasiveness" and scrub gunk off. I shoot suppressed for most everything and the brass can come out of the gun pretty ugly. A few healthy squirts of NuFinish and dryer sheets. NuFinish for pretty and dryer sheets to catch dust and carbon. In less that 30 minutes brass comes out clean and ready to load. After loading, 5-10 minutes removes any lube. |
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Posted: 8/12/2022 2:43:55 PM EDT
[#21]
Thanks, guys!
Some interesting stuff. K-762......same corn cob media for 15 years! You GO girl! 
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Posted: 8/13/2022 4:18:18 PM EDT
[#22]
The two primary dry tumbling media types are walnut and corn cob. Walnut is good for scrubbing brass, because it is essentially hard, sharp grains - it scours brass pretty well. Corn cob is good for polishing and shining because it’s flat flakes. Plain cob media buffs cases, and if you add a polishing agent, it makes the brass even shinier.
As it’s used, walnut grinds itself down, and goes from sharp grains to dust. It will NOT clean anything when it’s more dust than anything else, but it will make a bigger mess because of the dust. Corn cob media doesn’t break down, but it does get “full” of the stuff it rubs off of cases. That can be anything from tarnish to nasty chemicals to whatever… All dry media WILL get contaminated with soot, lead, dust and sand. Eventually, you’ll wind up with funky looking media that takes a whole lot of time to sorta get your brass clean. It’s not expensive stuff. When it isn’t “as effective” go ahead and get rid of it. |
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Posted: 8/13/2022 7:02:48 PM EDT
[#23]
When it dawns on me that my media is taking way too long to do the same job as before....that's when I know it's time to change it.
The first batch with fresh corncob is really impressive after using old media. |
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Posted: 8/14/2022 9:58:17 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When it starts to lose effect and adding NuFinish no longer helps, I change it out. Quote HistoryQuoted: When it starts to lose effect and adding NuFinish no longer helps, I change it out. Quoted: Old dirty still works but I am positive it takes longer. Fresh cuts to clean brass batter. Quoted: When it dawns on me that my media is taking way too long to do the same job as before....that's when I know it's time to change it. The first batch with fresh corncob is really impressive after using old media. Pretty much all these sum it up. Some claim that media does not wear out. I, like the above posters, disagree. It does wear out and lose effectiveness. When it takes way longer than normal to clean the cases, and adding the media additive does not help it much, I dump it and add new. I prefer the green corncob. |
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Posted: 8/14/2022 10:09:06 AM EDT
[#25]
i figured it was wise to replace it every few years or so. otherwise your are just tumbling all the old dirt back on to your brass
but what do i know. i am not an expert i just do what i want when i replaced the media from an old old lyman handed down to me, i noticed an immediate difference in the brass cleanliness |
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Posted: 8/15/2022 9:25:39 PM EDT
[#26]
Used dryer sheets in the tumbler seem to greatly extend the life of the media.
Like others have said though, I just toss it when it no longer has the capacity to absorb stuff. The big buckets of treated Lyman media used to be like $25. I should probably grab another soon. |
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