Lubing Up is Crucial

admin on January 13, 2008


Smart Parts Sleek Lubrication

Lubing your paintball gun is absolutely necessary for any marker owner. How often do you use your paintball gun? There is no doubt, lubing your paintball gun periodically is the most important maintenance you can perform on your marker. If you play with your marker (i.e. shoot it with paintballs or Reballs) 3 or more times a week, you should lube all moving parts every week or so. At a molecular level, it really improves the longevity of your internal o-rings, and in turn, improves your air efficiency and overall gun accuracy. If you don’t know what that means or how the guns even work, just take my word for it. Like taking care of a car, you change your oil every 3,000 miles; like taking care of your paintball marker, you lube your gun every week or two.

{democracy:8}

I personally recommend only two types of paintball gun lube:

1. Smart Parts Sl33k Lube

2. Dye Slick Lube

I really only suggest using these two lubricants, but for a reason. The Sl33k lube was developed by Dow Corning, the world’s leading manufacturer of silicone-based products. It really comes down to another molecular level, where only certain kinds of lubes “treat” your internal o-rings with “respect”. The Smart Parts Sl33k and Dye Slick lube have the correct “thickness” that most paintball gun bolts need in order to work efficiently. In fact, when we were in Atlanta for the paintball tradeshow, one of Dye’s regional reps claimed that the Sl33k lube really tops most other gun lubes out there.

Take care of your gun and it will take care of you 😉

Getting Your Paintball Tank Hydro Tested

admin on July 21, 2007

I bet half of you forgot that co2 or HPA tanks even had an expiration date. Well, let’s get educated. Also, this is for those who aren’t sure how to find your paintball tank’s expiration date and if expired, how to get it hydro tested.

Most fiber wrap tanks (N2, nitrogen, HPA, compressed air) have a valid lifespan of about 3-5 years. Steel or aluminum tanks are usually 5 years. What I mean by this is that every paintball tank that holds a gas at high pressure (all of them do) need to be tested for safety purposes every x amount of years. If you’re caught at the field with a paintball tank passed its expiration, you’ll be asked to use a different tank or to not play at all. It’s a safety issue. Tanks need to be tested for durability after holding so much pressure over time. Tanks have been known to explode.

To fine the expiration date of your CO2 tank, look at the engraved digits near the top of the tank. For fiber wrapped tanks, locate the sticker wrapped around the tank that has its information on it. Find the digits that match up in the MM / YY format (MM=month, YY=year). For example: 03 / 03. That would mean that the tank needs hydro testing in March of 2008. Usually there’s a triangle symbol that separates the month from the year. See picture below.

Tank

Once you find the date, it’s a matter of going to your own personal calendar to see what day it is. Determine whether or not the date on your tank is passed the current day or not. If it is, it’s time to get hydro tested! You can usually get this done at local CO2 providers, fire department stations, or you can send it somewhere that services paintball tanks. One provider for this is Hydrotester.com.

Yea it’s just another chore to remember to do; but it’s necessary to keep your equipment all safe and… working.

Stuff That Doesn’t Make Sense…

admin on June 27, 2007

I know most a good chunk of the traffic here at PaintballGuns.net comes from those who are under 18. In no way am I trying to be Mr. Safety or Mr. Perfect here today. There are as many things in paintball that make sense as do not make sense. These are some of the things that don’t make sense. Read on and you will find we can change many of them. COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED!

1.) Picking fun at newbie’s. Poking fun at the newbie player because they don’t know what to you (the veteran player) seems like the obvious is just not cool. The newbie’s are the future of our game. Consider taking a newbie under your veteran wing and showing them the ropes. Take the time to invest in your sport and help out a newbie and help them move up the ranks.

2.) An electro that is capable of 20 BPS with a gravity fed hopper on it. Why does this not make sense? A gravity hopper is capable of about 5-8 ball per second. While the marker is capable of 20 balls per second. This combination will blend paint when the marker out shoots the hopper. Sometimes when you are saving up for new gear you have to do this exact thing. Just be aware that you will blend paint faster than a Osterizer at puree mode if you out shoot the hopper.
Read More about Stuff That Doesn’t Make Sense…

Even Paintballers Steal…

admin on April 20, 2007

I read an article recently about a 15 year old paintballer that had his Dynasty Shocker stolen from him at an NPPL tournament in 2006.

As it turned out, the marker never left Florida, and was recovered this past weekend at Central Florida Paintball in Lakeland, Florida. Braccili was practicing with Team Sentinels, and he noted a Jacksonville Raider holding a blue Dynasty Shocker. He walked up to the player, later revealed to be a new addition to the Raider’s D1 squad and asked to take a look at it. Braccili was shocked to see that the serial number on the marker was the same as his stolen Dynasty. LP, Brian and Trevor (who had possession of the marker) immediately handed the marker to Central Florida Paintball’s John Smith and Smith called the Lakeland Police to investigate. D/S Smith of the Lakeland Police currently has possession of the marker as evidence.

It’s almost shocking how ruthless some people can be sometimes.

There is no 100% theft-proof way to protect yourself from having something stolen from you at the field or through an online transaction. Unfortunate stories like these rise up all the time, and yet some people still don’t learn. With the proper care and attention, you can avoid almost any kind of fraud or theft experience.

Today’s tip is a simple reminder to never leave your paintball marker, accessories, tools, or any type of gear unattended at any time while at the fields. It’s too risky and, in my opinion, just stupid :).

Peace be with you…
And also with you.

What is Paintball Anyway?

admin on February 9, 2007

Paintballs

Sorry for not posting for the last few days. Today I got my wisdom teeth out (all four of them), so it gave me a chance to catch up on my writing. I decided to write a huge, comprehensive article on what Paintball actually is. The purpose of the post is so that you can either educate yourself on Paintball’s history, rules, and game types; or to be able to share it with your parents or wife/husband and educate them about the sport you love so dearly ;).

Hopefully somebody learns something from it. I tried to apply all my knowledge to it, so it should be pretty thorough.

How to Properly Remove Your Co2 Tank

admin on January 28, 2007

This Side Up I recently had a question asking if it was OK to remove your Co2 tank if there was still Co2 in the tank. The answer is yes; but the question reminded me how often players at the field brake their tank’s o-rings over and over again due to improperly unscrewing them from the gun. Ever have this problem? Here’s why it happens…

The problem resides in the way you remove the tank from your marker. The first tip that prevents most o-ring breaks is to unscrew the Co2 tank face up. Why? The Co2 in you tank is in two forms: Gas and liquid. The liquid rests at the bottom of the tank since it’s heavier, and the gas lays at the top. The reason why your o-rings break is because you have your tank face down, causing the extremely cold liquid Co2 to expel through the nossle while unscrewing the tank, freezing the o-ring and breaking it. Urethane o-rings aren’t meant to be that cold. That’s how they get destroyed.

The second common reason why your o-rings are breaking is simply due to a lack of lubrication. You by no means need a hefty amount of oil to lube the o-ring. I’m talking less than a drop of oil. I usually just put a little oil on my fingertip or cotton swab and layer the o-ring lightly.

O-rings don’t cost much at all. You can find 500 urethane o-rings for a few bucks on the internet. So it’s no big loss breaking a few o-rings once and awhile, but it’s definitely an inconvenience to keep having to change your o-rings over and over… especially if you don’t have any spares.

Peace.