How to Clean and Maintain a Paintball Gun

Lots of people use paintball guns for professional and recreational purposes. No matter your reason for owning a paintball gun, it is important to keep it clean and maintained to ensure it is working correctly. A dirty, unkept paintball gun can lose its shooting accuracy over time and develop noticeable wear on its parts. Even the U.S. Army's page about recreational paintball recommends careful inspections and cleanings to keep your paintball gun safe and functional. With a few tips and tricks, you can turn cleaning and maintaining your best paintball gun into an easy and efficient system.

What Supplies Are Needed to Clean a Paintball Gun?

Before you begin the cleaning process, you’ll need to gather some basic supplies. Luckily, most of the supplies needed for a good, thorough paintball gun cleaning are common household items. You’ll need to work in an open space where you can clean without risk of breaking anything or losing any small parts from the paintball gun.

To clean the paintball gun, you will need warm water, cotton swabs, paper towels, a set of Allen keys, a toothbrush, and a lubricant recommended by the gun’s manufacturer. It is also helpful to have a copy of your paintball gun’s schematics (if you tossed these out when you originally unboxed the gun, you can likely recover a copy of them online).

How Do You Properly Clean a Paintball Gun?

First, you will need to make sure to de-gas your paintball gun by removing the fuel canister. The proper steps to disassemble this piece varies from brand to brand of paintball gun—reference your gun’s specific instructions to do it properly. Removing the fuel canister first will ensure you won’t have any accidental misfires.

After removing the fuel canister, you can begin disassembling the rest of the paintball gun. Make sure all small parts, such as screws and fasteners, are kept in a neat pile to avoid losing them. After everything is taken apart, begin cleaning the body of the gun (check whether or not your specific brand of paintball gun can be cleaned by running a sponge or squeegee through the barrel). Wipe down the outside of the gun as well.

Next, use a paper towel to thoroughly wipe down the bolt and hammer. During this point, you should also check for damage to the O-rings found on these parts. A small amount of wear and tear is normal, but heavy damage indicates a need for O-ring replacement.

The next part to clean is the grip frame. Don’t attempt to disassemble the trigger—it can become too complicated to reassemble. Instead, use a cotton swab to gently brush away dirt and debris from small, compact spaces. Choosing to completely disassemble the trigger can lead to an incorrect reassembly. It is better to clean it with a cotton swab than to risk accidental paintball gun malfunctions.

After cleaning all parts of the paintball gun, do a thorough inspection. Pay particularly close attention to any parts that may need replacements, such as broken screws or warped O-rings. A little wear and tear is normal, but excessive damage can lead to paintball gun malfunctions. At the very least, these damages can lead to inaccuracies during shooting.

Make sure you also clean any protective gear that you may have. In particular, protective goggles. Cleaning the protective goggles ensures you'll be able to see clearly the next time you take part in a paintball game.

Before reassembling the paintball gun, apply a thin coat of lubricant to all parts that reattach to one another. Make sure you are only using lubricants and oils recommended by the paintball gun’s manufacturer. Non-authorized lubricants can cause damage to certain types of paintball guns.

Follow the specific instructions for reassembling your paintball gun. Afterward, you can put away your supplies and prepare for properly storing your paintball gun if you don’t plan to use it immediately.

How Should I Store My Paintball Gun Between Uses?

Before storing your paintball gun, make sure it isn’t loaded and the safety switch is engaged. It is also recommended that you completely remove the fuel tank when storing a paintball gun. For safety purposes, paintball guns and shooting supplies, such as paintballs and air canisters, should be kept in separate storage areas to ensure the gun won’t be loaded when you aren’t the one accessing it.

If you plan to store your gun for an extended period of time, pull the trigger and allow the bolt to slide all the way forward. This will prevent the spring-loaded trigger from wearing out over time. You can also choose to add an extra drop or two of lubricating oil to protect connections and triggers within the paintball gun to keep it in working order until the next use.

Resources— The Paintball Professor, AC Paintball

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