How To Clean A Paintball Gun? [10 Easiest Steps!]

Have a dirty paintball gun? Want to restore the looks but do not know how to clean a paintball gun? Well, we got you covered in that factor!

Let us face it, cleaning the paintball gun is what most of us consider the most tedious and time-consuming task.

At the same time, it is something that we should not ignore. An adequately maintained gun can hold onto its performance for an extended amount of time.

In addition to that, regular maintenance can also increase the lifespan of the gun. However, if you do not know how to clean a paintball gun, it will not be possible for you to carry out those maintenance tasks.

And without carrying out the maintenance process, the gun might not be able to perform its best for that long.

But you have got nothing to worry about. We are going to take care of everything else. In fact, we might even know a thing or two that can make the cleaning process feel a little less tedious.

And we are going to share all of that with you in this article. So, get yourself relaxed and continue reading.

Follow 10 Easiest Steps To Properly Clean a Paintball Gun!

There are multiple guides about cleaning paintball guns available. However, they will miss out on keeping things simple, which we have prioritized the most.

We tried to make the process feel smother rather than making it feel tedious. That being said, the steps that you need to follow are as stated:

Step 1: Remove the air tank

The first thing you need to do is take the CO2 tank. It will offer you an adequate safety level and lower the chances of you accidentally firing the gun when you are moving it around.

Also, it will lower the overall heft of the gun, which will make handling it easier.

However, do note that if you do not remove the tank, the chances of you damaging the gun will be considerably high.

Also, you might cause yourself and the people that might be around you some serious injury. For that reason, we would highly recommend taking it out of the gun.

Step 2: Strip the gun apart

After taking out the CO2 tank, it is time to disassemble the whole thing. First, start with the hopper. Then move along to the bolt, followed with the bolt and the barrel.

Finally, take the grip frame out. If you are struggling to take these apart, check the manual that came with your gun.

On that note, keep all of the disassembled parts in an organized manner. And remember what you are taking out first and what you are taking out later.

Also, keep all the small parts in a safe place. These will make the reassembly process much more manageable.

Step 3: Clean the Barrel

Now that the gun is stipped down, you need to start the cleaning process. Start with the barrel. Rinse it with water to get the apparent dust and debris out of the external body. Do make sure that you get all of the large dust particles off the body in this process.

After the external body is clean, follow the barrel swab process to run the inside of the barrel clean. Use the same cloth to clean the tiny particles that might be on the exterior body.

Double-check the inside and the outside to ensure no obvious contamination is left, and the barrel is all clear.

If the barrel is still contaminated, then opt for a squeegee. Use that to suck one of the ends and pull it through the other. It would help if you used it as a hook on the rings.

This will clear any of the debris that might be leftover by the swab inside the barrel. Then check the outside of the barrel and clean it if necessary.

Step 4: Clean The Body

Before getting into this step, we would recommend reading the instruction manual of the gun.

There, the manufacturer will state whether you should use a cloth while rinsing the gun or not. If it allows you to use it, you should be all good to use any regular piece of fabric.

Also, do get some q-tip or a toothbrush to thoroughly clean the areas that you might not be able to access with the cloth.

After getting all of these, start scrubbing. But do be careful when you are scrubbing the body. Do not put too much pressure on the delicate parts.

Additionally, clear all the areas that you can get access to with those cleaning materials. That will lower the chances of the gun getting jammed.

Also, if the brand recommends against using a piece of cloths, use microfiber or the type of cloth they recommend.

Step 5: Move along to the hammer and bolt

Once you took care of the body, it is time to move along to the bolt and the hammer. Here, you will need to use a paper towel.

First, clean the surface, use the suitable polishing material for the gun, and start polishing the hammer and bolt. After they are polished, leave them to dry.

On that note, do make sure that you are not using too many polishing agents. That will end in the parts taking too much time to dry up.

Step 6: Check, clean, or replace the O-rings

After cleaning the hammer and the bolt, check the O-rings. Check whether they are showing any signs of wear and tear.

You can correct any of the minor wear during this maintenance process. However, if the wear is too much, it would be better to replace them altogether.

However, if the O-rings are in great shape and they do not require any replacement, get into cleaning them.

Here, you need to use Q-tip and clear any of the debris that might be on the O-rings. Do not exert too much pressure, or else you might risk the O-rings from getting broken.

Step 7: Clean the grip frame

The grip frame is where you are to put your hands to get a grip over the gun. As you are making direct contact with this area, dust and debris can get inlaid here. For that reason, you need to get yourself ready to clean it thoroughly.

First, get yourself a toothbrush and some Q-tips. After that, gently clean the trigger area. Emphasis on the gentle motion because if you manage to get the trigger disassembled, it will get pretty tough for you to put it back together.

For that reason, we would highly recommend being extra careful while cleaning the trigger.

Then, take the Q-tip and get rid of the surface-level debris, dirt, and dust. Here you would want to follow a gentle procedure as well.

Dampen the Q-tip with some water and clean the surface properly. You can even use some soap water if any of the paints are inlaid on the surface. However, only use mild soap.

Finally, use a toothbrush to scrub off the rest of the dirt. Here, depending on how much dirt is on the surface, you need to select the correct pressure for the scrubbing process.

If there is too much dirt, a higher level of force would be necessary. On the other hand, you can lower the pressure by a bit for a low level of dirt.

Step 8: Check the batteries and the parts

You would not want your gun to stop working in the middle of the gunfight, would you? For that reason, you should check the batteries.

Check whether they have a good amount of charge or not. If the charge level is reasonably low, replace them with a new cell.

Additionally, look for damages on the parts. Here, you would be looking for the crucial flaws that might be causing the performance to deteriorate on the field.

Also, do check if you can find any of the dings that might be on the body. But if they are not that noticeable, leave them be.

Apart from that, check the screws. Make sure that they do not have any rust on them. Also, check the threads. If there is any problem with those, you might have to opt for replacements. And it would be better to get the replacement as soon as possible, or else the parts might develop severe damage.

Step 9: Lubricate the parts

Now that all disassembled parts are clean, you need to consider lubricating them before putting them back together.

Here, you need to make sure that you are using suitable lubricant for the guns. If you happen to use something that is not for the guns, there is going to be an adverse effect on the parts.

Nevertheless, first, make sure that the parts are dried. Without the parts being dry, you will not be able to apply the oils and lubricate them on the surface properly.

So, consider drying them up before lubricating them up. Then, use a paper towel and dab the right amount of oil or lubricant to it.

On that note, while you are soaking the paper towel, make sure that you do not take too much of the lubricant. Using too much oil will make the process messy.

Also, it can make the guns have a weird look to them. Considering that, we would recommend paying extra attention to the amount of lubricant you are using.

After getting the proper amount of lubricant on the towel, run the parts with it. Be gentle in this process. The more gently you rub, the better the lubrication will be.

Also, take the O-rings out and lubricate them. This lubrication will make it easier to work with moving parts during the reassembly process.

Step 10:Reassemble the gun

Since all the parts are clean at the moment, you need to get into getting them back to place. Hopefully, you kept all of the things organized, as we mentioned at the beginning of the guide. If you did follow our advice, this process would be pretty much hassle-free.

Also, we hope that you took our advice and remembered which parts you were taking out first. If you did keep that in mind, all you need to do is follow it in reverse order. For example, as you took out the bolt and the hammer the last, they would get in the first.

Once you got all the parts in place, check if the gun functions like it should or not. If the gun seems to be malfunctioning, there is a high chance that you might have installed one of the parts wrong.

So, take all of the parts out again and follow the instruction manual this time.

How Often Should I Clean My Paintball Gun?

The intensive cleaning process that we have gone through above is not something you would have to go through too often.

However, there is a big if. If you clean the gun every time you use it by simply wiping it down with a clean cloth, you will not have to go through the intensive cleaning process frequently.

By simply wiping it regularly will lower the chances of the dirt and debris getting settled inside. However, if you do not clean your gun each time you use it, we would recommend going through the intensive cleaning process at least once every two months.

Nevertheless, when it comes to oiling the gun, we would recommend oiling the parts a bit before you go out to play. That will lower the level of friction, which will eventually reduce the rate of wear. As a result, the parts will not get damaged that easily.

On that note, you should replace the parts as soon as you notice that they are damaged. This will increase the lifespan of the other parts that are relying on the damaged part to function.

Final Words

Hopefully, the steps we included in this article were easy to follow, and after going through them, you now know how to clean a paintball gun properly.

That being said, we would like to conclude here by wishing you a dash of good luck on the games you are going to play in the future.