Corn Cob
Our next blasting media is Corn Cob. This media is, as the name suggests, made from crushed corn cobs. This is a natural and effective way to remove coatings from many surfaces.

Advantages
Again, this media is environmentally friendly and considered non-hazardous. Corn cob is 100% organic, bio-degradable, Ph neutral and will not damage plants if left on the ground nor change the Ph of the surface being blasted. While it’s primary use is for the removal of paint and stain from wood surfaces, it has many other applications and provides an alternative to our other media. Mild abrasiveness, absorbency and resistance to breaking down make Corn Cob and ideal blasting media. Utilizing corn cob for blasting eliminates the need to mask, the use of solvents and the related pollution concerns. Corn cob is non-sparking and contains no silica.

Disposal
Clean up and Disposal of spent corn cob is quite simple. It can simply be shoveled or vacuumed up. As it is naturally bio-degradable, it makes a fine addition to a compost pile. It may also be disposed of in the local landfill. Of course, if the coating being removed is considered hazardous, proper disposal techniques must be employed.

Disadvantages
Dry blasting with Corn Cob creates dust that may need to be contained. Since it’s primary use is outdoors, this becomes less of an issue. The absorbent nature of Corn Cob can be an issue if too much of it is left on the ground as it will absorb the moisture destined for the plants around it. This can be overcome by applying additional water until the corn cob begins to breakdown.