How to clean a Paintball Gun?

Visualize yourself standing at the paintball arena, all ready to whack your opponent but whoosh, you find your gun jammed. Imagine that since the beginning of today’s game, your gun is giving you problems while playing. Neither it is functioning the way you want it nor it is responsive. Therefore, to avoid this situation, you should check your gun before every game. And most importantly, make sure to clean your paintball gun afterward to avoid any blockage and leakage.

Cleaning a paintball gun can sometimes be a hectic task but it is very important to keep your paintball marker clean. Else, you will not only be able to play as you imagined but your guns’ condition may also deteriorate. It might go to such an extent that you will have to invest in a new gun that is expensive.

What tools do you require to clean the gun?

Cleaning a Paintball gun is an easy but delicate job. You need to remain organized during the process.

There are many small screws or little O rings involved. If you lose any of these accidentally, you will curse yourself afterward.

Therefore, I always recommend having a small kit. It should carry a set of drivers and small containers to place the screws together in one place. Either you should be having the manual for your gun to help you re-assemble the gun. If you have lost it or you have bought the gun second-hand then worry not. Use your mobile phone camera for the same purpose. Keep on taking the pictures as you are disassembling so that they can help you later on for assembly.

1. Paintball Gun cleaning kit
2. Paintball Gun Oil
3. A Paintball squeegee
4. Paintball barrel swab
5. Q tips
6. Toothbrush
7. Paper towel

Before moving further, keep in mind that safety is the utmost priority during the process. Don’t hurt yourself at any cost. Paintball gun has Paintball tanks as well as Batteries. Both of these can be hazardous if you do not handle them with precaution. Moreover, handle the screws with care and enjoy the process.

How to clean a Paintball Gun?

As a paintball freak, I can infer your pain on how it feels not to be able to play just as you planned. Moreover, the pressure of additional costs that you might have to spend extra. Because of not paying much attention to the cleaning up of the paintball gun. Hence, based on my experience in paintball, I can guide you through the steps. You can follow these to clean the gun and maintain a decent shape.

1. Remove the tank

The first and most important step that you have to keep in mind is to always remove the air tank from your gun before cleaning it. Most guns have CO2 tanks that have to be detached very carefully as they can explode and cause serious injuries. Before going ahead and trying removing it on your own, look for the directions mentioned either on the side of the gun on how to unfasten the tank to circumvent any disaster.

2. Dismantle the parts

Once you’re done with the removal of the tank, now carefully detach all other parts of the gun i.e barrel, marker, hammer, etc. Removing all parts allows a more detailed sanitization of the gun as each slab is cleaned individually. If you have detached all the remaining parts remember to keep everything in order as it will be easier for you to assemble every part at the end.

3. Clean the body, barrel, bolt, and hammer

When you finish pulling apart the gun, the next step is to get cleaning. Now here, don’t hastily start cleaning the gun with whatever equipment you can find, but go through the guidelines for the ways, you can clean its body. You may use a cloth, toothbrush, or a Q tip to wipe the dirt and dry paint out.

(a) How to clean a paintball barrel?

As far as cleansing the barrel is concerned, firstly, rinse out all the obvious residue and run a barrel swab on the exterior of the gun to wipe off any particle dust, Always make sure that the barrel does not contain any dirt, for it to function properly.

Sometimes the mud on that barrel is hard to wash, for which I recommend using a squeegee because it helps in cleaning much more effectively. When using a squeegee if you suckle one verge to a similar hook and pull that, it will wipe all the dirt out. Then, in the end, all you need to do is to clean the barrel sideways and you’re all done.

(b) How to clean a paintball bolt and hammer?

Cleaning the bolt and the hammer is the simplest and most susceptible task to perform, you just simply have to use a damp paper towel to clean them both by stroking the silt away and later dabbing it with a dry cloth.

4. Replacing and tidying of O rings

O rings are made of a softer material in between two mating surfaces of the gun to prevent the gas from leaking out of the gun.

For cleaning O rings it’s best to use a Q tip to carefully scour the dirt out as this is a sensitive part of the gun because if not handled with attention it might affect the functioning of the gun.

5. Check for any damage to the Paintball Gun

This step requires close vigilance because if any part is left unexamined or an issue is ignored it may tarnish your gun. Look for any damaged parts and fix them immediately, and check the O rings. If they are dry, change them instantly because if they are damaged then it might lead to leakage of CO2 gas. Then, your gun will end up losing all its air pressure and will not be able to shoot as strong as it used to. Lastly, also examine the gun from the inside to check for any wiring issues that need to be resolved.

6. Check for replacement of batteries

Try changing batteries every often, and also it’s better to keep some extras, so you can always change them whenever you feel like it.

7. Oil and lubricate the marker

Every gun needs oils and lubricants for them to work smoothly. So after all the cleaning is done, now it’s time to, lubricate the gun for it to operate smoothly.

8. Assemble the gun back together

As I mentioned above, when disassembling the gun always remember to keep its parts in order so that it’s easier for you to know which part goes in when and where. This is a crucial part because, in In the case of a minor mistake with the assembling, your gun may not be the same as before. It’s always better to look for directions when reassembling the pieces to avoid any mistakes and errors.

How often should you clean the gun?

Everyone looks for the cause of the damage that happened to their gun when their lethargy is the main reason for it. Leaving the task for the next day makes things much worse, because when you come back from a long game, and you don’t instantly get into cleaning, it gives time for the mud and paints to dry out which becomes hard, and thus is difficult to wash out.

Washing the gun directly after the game is the best thing to do. Some newbies or youngsters miss the trick and repent later on.

Firstly, it’ll take lesser time to wash and clean as compared to when everything is dry.

Secondly, it will also prevent the gun from damaging. For example, the O rings are going to remain in their best condition will allow the gun for a smoother shoot.

Lastly, it will reduce the cost of buying new parts for the gun.

Cleaning the gun altogether is not the best and safest option as it will not only be cleaned perfectly but is also dangerous because the air tank is attached to it. Therefore, disassemble each part and then proceed with the cleaning by following the prescribed steps. Disassembling the gun very often is not a very good practice as it may result in losing some small parts and that can affect its working.

Final Words to clean Paintball Gun

Reading through the lines above it’s easier to say that shape comes with care. If you follow and use all the prescribed tools and steps it will be easier for you to wash your paintball gun. If we summarise the above-mentioned tips and techniques, we can emphasize the most important thing. And I know that by now, you have also realized the same. Clean your paintball gun after every game.

It will help you not only in the field but also will save a lot of bucks as you will not have to invest in the new gun.