Step into the adrenaline-pumping world of paintball, where precision and power combine in the form of a paintball marker. This shooting gun unleashes colorful paintballs, fueled by compressed carbon dioxide gas (CO2), towards their targets at high velocity. But how does this marvel of engineering work its magic?
The paintball marker comprises several active components working in harmony to create that exhilarating gameplay experience. Understanding these inner workings is not only fascinating but also crucial for maintaining the paintball marker in pristine condition.
In our comprehensive guide on paintball marker maintenance, we’ll delve deep into each intricate part and reveal the secrets to keeping your gear in top shape. From routine cleaning to essential upkeep, you’ll discover invaluable tips to maximize your marker’s performance and extend its longevity.
What Are The Major Parts of a Paintball Marker?
The following are some of the significant parts of the paintball and their roles.
The Receiver – is aluminum, also known as the main body that plays host to the mainspring, hammer, and power tube. It’s connected to the grip frame with screws or thumbscrews.
The Grip Fame – the grip frame is where the user holds during the game. It houses the safety pin to arm the gun, trigger to shoot the paintballs, and handgrips where the person has when using the paintball gun.
Air Source Adaptor is the compressed air tank attached at the bottom of the grip frame. It provides the much-needed force to fire a paintball out of the gun.
Feed Neck is also known as the hopper adapter found at the top of the paintball marker. It loads paintballs into the marker for firing.
Barrel – the barrel allows the gas from the compressed air tank to push the ball and send it to the target fast and accurately.
Sear – its other name is the hammer essential in the firing process as it opens the way for compressed air for easy, fast, and accurate firing.
The player must observe the following care and maintenance tips to ensure the paintball marker’s parts function correctly and effectively.
How to Clean the Paintball Marker Body
The body of the paintball gun tends to accumulate paint and dirt during the game. The dirt collects from paint and dust that is very easy to clean and needs cleaning after every game.
The easiest way to clean the accumulated paint and dust needs cleaning with a wet microfiber towel. Ensure the damp microfiber towel is free from any washing detergent and use very little water in the cleaning.
With the paintball maker, some creases can be challenging to reach with a cloth; a Q-tip or a good toothbrush can help the body’s cleansing process.
De-Gas the Paintball Marker
The initial step in paintball marker cleaning is disconnecting the compressed air can from the marker. The firing process of a paintball is dependent on the compressed air in the air tank. Gas disconnection aids in eliminating the chances of causing accidental firing.
Do an Interior Cleaning on Paintball Marker
Interior cleaning of the paintball gun is essential since it helps in increasing the efficiency of the paintball gun. Cleaning the paintball gun calls for great caution. The cleaning process entails cleaning the individual part of the paintball gun.
The internal paintball gun cleaning process is the disassembling of the paintball marker. Disassembling the paintball gun is to clean every part independently.
Observe the following steps while disassembling the paintball marker.
Clean The Working Area: the table where the planned disassembly of the paintball gun should be clear from any item not associated with the disassembly process. Working on a clean space will reduce contamination and events of mistakes during the reassembly.
Pay Attention to Detail: disassembly of a paintball gun is effortless compared to reassembly. Being a newbie in the disassembly of the paintball marker, using a manual from the manufacturer can ease the process. Take images of the connection during disassembly.
Follow Manufacturer Guidelines: The difference in manufacturing companies can also cause a slight difference in assembly. Understanding the manual eases the process of disassembling and assembling.
Disassembly of the Paintball Marker: The disassembling process can instantly commence after completing the previous steps. The disassembling process commonly follows the following procedure; removing the barrel, hopper, grip, frame, and the hammer as the last piece. To eliminate confusion, place every major part independently on the working table. The minor parts like fasteners and screws must be placed close to the significant part. It helps in identifying the little part concerning the central part.
Cleaning the interior Paintball Marker: cleaning can commence after conclusively completing the disassembling process and grouping the paintball gun with different parts. Clean as per the respective parts with the necessary material. Also, oil the necessary parts as well.
The Grip Frame requires proper cleaning with a Q-tip. First, dampen the Q-tip and remove the accumulated dirt. The Q-tip may sometimes prove the dirt is hard to clean, then use a toothbrush to clean it off. During the cleaning, don’t disassemble the trigger.
The paintball gun barrel has accumulated paint and other dirt that need cleaning. Too much accumulation of dirt can slow down the effectiveness of the paintball gun. A squeegee is a piece of effective cleaning equipment.
It is essential to effectively clean the Hammer and Bolt with a wet microfiber towel and dry them well with a dry microfiber towel. The damp towel is meant to remove the accumulated paint and dirt, while the dry towel is intended to remove moisture.
Reassemble the Paintball Marker
Once the exterior and the interior are clean, the reassembling process can commence placing every major part back into its place. Ensure the parts match their original places and are well screwed where need be. If new or confused, always reefer from the manufactures manual.
Before reassembling, ensure that the paintball gun is well dry and well-oiled were necessary to avoid rusting or dust accumulation that may lead to malfunctioning.
Oil the Paintball Marker
It is advisable to oil the front and the rare O-rings on the paintball gun. When oiling the paintball gun, use only enough to coat the seals comfortably. The use of excess oil can cause the malfunction of the paintball marker.
Often oiling of the paintball gun is essential since it helps maintain the proper functionality of the moving parts on the paintball gun. Good oiling will protect and increase the durability of the O-rings and other seals on the paintball marker.
The oil also helps in protecting the paintballs from dissolving into moisture. As a lubricant, the oil helps reduce friction on the moving parts, increasing the paintball gun’s efficiency.
Oiling in the barrel will eliminate friction as the paintballs slide out, preventing them from breaking or getting stuck in the barrel. The firing process of a paintball gun requires compressed air, and less friction will result in the conservation of the compressed air.
How to Properly Storage of a Paintball Marker?
A paintball gun is an expensive investment whose service should have a long run. To achieve the long run with exceptional service, excellent and proper storage will go a long way.
Proper storage may vary depending on the manufacturer; hence, reading the manual on storing a paintball machine. Here are some universal tips for keeping a paintball and increasing its longevity.
Remove Paintballs from Paintballs Marker
Like a gun that needs to be unloaded while being stored, we must keep the paintball away without its paintballs. It helps mitigate the busting of the paintballs that may end up clogging the paintball gun.
De-gas the Paintball Marker
The gas canister may contain Carbon dioxide (CO2), and the gas is responsible for the firing process in the paintball gun. Leaving the gas canister intact may cause accidental firing that may cause destruction or injury to those around.
Lubricate the Paintball Marker
Lubrication is essential for most moving parts, even in colossal machinery. The same applies to the paintball gun, where its moving parts will need proper lubrication before storing the paintball away.
Activate the Paintball Marker Safety Key
Paintball markers are capable of causing injury or even fatality. To keep the people around safe from it, keep the paintball gun with its safety key on while in storage. It will prevent unwanted firing.
Where to Keep the Paintball Marker under Key and Lock?
Children are always ready to try new things and experiment with what they see adults doing. To prevent the children from accessing the paintball gun, keep it locked in a case. It will make the device inaccessible.
Being the only person who can arm the paintball gun will be a step closer to keeping the family safe and increasing the service time rendered by the paintball marker. Keeping the paintball safe can also make it last longer. Here are some of the best safes to store a paintball gun.
In-Wall Paintball Marker Safe
An in-wall safe is a safe that is buried into the wall. Its static nature allows them to be easily concealed using art or a wall hanging. It is locked using a password making a single person access.
Hidden Paintball Marker Safe
As the name suggests, the hidden paintball gun sage is fixed in a less conspicuous place and applies camouflage leaving only a few knowing its exact location. It could blend in with things like bookshelves.
Under Bed Paintball Marker Safe
A paintball gun safe could be under the bed, camouflaged as a bed drawer, or fitted into the ground under the bed. Being an under-bed paintball marker safe makes it hard to even think of its existence.
Sturdy Paintball Marker Safes
The heavy and sturdy paintball gun safe are chubby and hard-to-break secure cabinets ideal for storing the paintball marker. They need a password to access, making them one-person access and keeping the paintball gun out of reach from other people.
Corner Paintball Marker Safes
A corner paintball gun safe sits at a designated corner in a room, mainly between two slab stones. They are ideal both in the living room and even in the garage. Apart from the safety feature, they can easily blend into the interior décor.
The essential advantage of having a safe to store away the paintball marker is that they come with either a Biometric, wheel, or pin combination locking system. The biometric means using a fingerprint to access the safe. It makes them single-user safe.
The wheel or pin combination paintball gun safe; use a password to access the safe. The wheel has a configured knob that turns the knob to a certain number, and once the number matches, it unlocks. Similarly, the pin locks have a screen and numbers that allow the user to key in the pin combination to open. They both can have shared users.
Final Thoughts
The paintball markers require a significant amount to make a purchase. With every purchase, the buyer always hopes that it will serve efficiently and for a long time. Cleaning, oiling, and proper storage and safekeeping of the paintball gun will give a long-term service. Maintain the marker in the above-highlighted ways, and it will serve longer and more efficiently.