How to Clean a Co2 Airsoft Pistol

Don't know how oft yous need to make clean your airsoft gun, or even if you need to make clean it?

Sure, it may not exist a existent steel gun, but your airsoft gun does require a fiddling bit of upkeep. Depending on how often yous shoot, yous may even discover out you don't need to make clean it equally often as you lot clean your room.

… Yous do clean your room, right?

Anyways, cleaning and maintaining your airsoft gun isn't actually every bit hard equally it would seem reading forum responses on the topic. While the more technically inclined among us may feel like tackling the more than complex parts of cleaning, but for the rest of united states of america, it's pretty unproblematic to clean your gun in between trips to the tech.

And then, let's become to it!

How Frequently Exercise I Demand to Make clean My Airsoft Gun?

Estimates vary… widely. If yous search for advice, yous're going to observe a variety of answers, each based on a player's own experience.

specna-arms-8kiKzs-b5tc-unsplash — Airsofters

Make clean too often, and yous risk damaging your gun or forcing yourself to lubricate it more oftentimes than you lot'd demand to, thus spending more than than you need to on maintenance. Make clean not often enough, and yous're faced with buildup, loss of accuracy, and potential damage. Apparently, you desire to clean when you demand to.

So, how frequently is that?

We've plant the magic number to be somewhere effectually 2000 rounds. Whether you get through this is an event or it takes y'all months, information technology takes most 2000 rounds for plenty buildup to occur to make it worth cleaning your gun.

Equally you fire BBs, they will get out backside microscopic traces of plastic, which will accumulate over time. Manifestly, your gun's unique quirks, the quality of ammo you use, and other factors volition touch on buildup, so pay attention to how your gun's accuracy diminishes with use and maintain as necessary.

Obviously, y'all'll want to clean your gun more ofttimes if you play in bad conditions, like rain or sandy windstorms, or if you dump your gun in the clay.

Honestly, it's still meliorate to overclean than to under-clean your gun.

To Tech or Not to Tech: When Cleaning Needs to Go Pro

Okay, we're pretty large fans of DIYing stuff, but we also know that there are times to talk to a professional airsoft tech, too.

If y'all know your way around your gun and accept a robust toolset, you lot probably could clean and lubricate the gearbox and internals of your gun merely fine on your ain. We're not going to walk you through that since, well… it really depends on your individual gun and we simply don't have the space to do that.

If you're a new airsofter, though, and want to gain some disquisitional data for keeping your shiny new gun happy, listen upwards! Nosotros're writing this for y'all.

Anyways, getting back to the original indicate, we wanted to talk a little bit about when to take your gun to a tech, and when to do information technology yourself.

Even the newest airsofter can clean their own barrel with the correct tools–tools which ofttimes come up with the freakin' gun. This is probably the cleaning job you'll demand to worry about the near often, and so it's great to learn to do it on your own.

We'd say that, if yous aren't comfortable with a certain cleaning job–like opening up your gearbox and taking it apart–don't do it. These things tin can be super tricky to put dorsum together, and lost parts volition ruin the whole thing.

You lot can, of course, learn to do it. Nosotros encourage this. Just besides, we're non going to give yous a hard time for opting to become to a tech and having them practice information technology correct the first fourth dimension.

Pro tip: if you want to get a feel for working on internals, enquire around or expect for a beater of a gun. You can mess around with it, and it won't be too sorry if you stop up breaking it.

How to Clean Your Airsoft Gun: The Basics

Over again, we tin't get into the nitty-gritty of cleaning every type of gun, just because we don't take the space or the attention span to do that. And I don't want to. Then in that location.

Simply there are some basics that are pretty universal, then we'll go over those. For the details, nosotros propose consulting your specific user transmission. If your gun didn't come with one (used guns, yo), there's a pretty practiced chance you can plug in the make and model of your gun and "user manual" into Google and go a PDF version of it.

And now, the basics of cleaning your own airsoft gun!

Cleaning the Barrel

Chances are, your gun came with a butt cleaning/unjamming rod. If it didn't, they're a few bucks to pick up and are 100% necessary to proceed on paw and then… become 1.

airsoft barrel cleaning — This is a real steel gun but… same concept applies.

Cleaning the barrel is incredibly easy. At that place volition be a little loop on the end of the rod, which volition allow y'all to thread through a scrap of paper towel, a cloth cleaning patch, or fifty-fifty a bit of an old tee shirt–whatever you lot have on paw.

Personally, we similar to apply Teflon gun oil to lubricate and clean our barrel, considering it dries nicely and won't attract dust. Many people recommend silicone oil for cleaning, and it volition certainly become the job done, just we don't similar the balance it tin can exit.

Any your pick is, dampen your fabric, towel, whatever, with a drop or 2 of oil after threading the material onto your rod. Thread the rod, cloth-first, into your barrel and gently twirl it as you move information technology downward the barrel of your gun.

Alter out your cloth and echo every bit needed until your swab comes out clean.

Voila! Clean barrel.

Cleaning the Exterior

While cleaning the butt is probably the near of import maintenance step, the outside of your gun shouldn't be neglected, either.

Brush Set — Use the soft one on the correct–not the metallic bristled ones!

A soft textile and a soft-bristled brush, similar a toothbrush, volition be your best friends in keeping the outside of your gun clean. You tin use them to clean dust and knock dust off your gun. Cotton swabs tin also exist super useful to assist y'all make clean all the nooks and crannies.

What's important is to avoid annihilation too abrasive, since you lot don't desire to scratch the finish of your gun.

Lubricating Your Gun

If yous've cleaned your barrel, you've already lubricated that part of your gun. Yay! Now allow's become to the remainder of information technology.

The first step is to remove your magazine and make certain in that location aren't whatever stray Bbs in your gun. So… point it in a safe direction and fire abroad!

All clear? Crawly. Now flip that gun over, cause nosotros're getting to work.

At present that your gun is upside down, drop or spray a little bit of silicone oil into your hop up, and requite it a few minutes to soak in.

To lubricate the gearbox, y'all'll need to remove the motor and locate the small pigsty on the bottom. You can drop a few drops of silicone oil into the hole and leave the box upside down to let the oil to seep in and lubricate everything.

You might also see white lithium grease recommended for your gearbox, but it'due south a bit difficult to apply the paste without disassembling your gearbox. If you are taking it apart, though, it's a cracking lubricant for gearboxes!

Magazine Maintenance

Finally, you'll desire to take good care of your magazines. These are easier to replace if something goes wrong merely who wants to spend more money than they have to?

If yous employ an AEG or a spring gun, you'll want to completely empty the mag after yous're done playing. This takes tension off the follower and spring inside, and volition greatly increase the lifespan of your magazines.

Gas magazines take a little bit more than care. When storing your gas mag, leave it pressurized. You'll also want to lubricate the internals of your magazine, especially if you're using straight propane or CO^two instead of green gas. A drop or ii of silicone oil in the magazine internals is all information technology takes to protect your O-ring and keep your magazine useful for a long fourth dimension.

Some other thing to be conscientious with when using gas magazines is how you purge your magazine when it'south needed. A rapid purge of gas will freeze and ruin the O-ring, which leaves you with a sad, leaky mag. Don't utilize the release valve, since this will cause this issue and y'all'll be bummed you did.

Instead, take a ballpoint pen or a small-scale tool and gently (gently!) press the fill valve to drain off the gas slowly. Or, y'know… shoot. Dry out firing is a perfectly acceptable way to empty out a gas magazine!

Conclusion

Cleaning and maintaining your airsoft gun shouldn't be some mystical ritual that but happens in the backrooms of airsoft shops. Information technology's not hard, and y'all can definitely acquire to do it yourself.

In fact, you should, which is why we're here!

Take some fourth dimension to sit downward with your gun, your cleaning supplies, and our guide, and show your gun some love.

Any questions? Whatsoever tips? Share with the states and our readers in the comments below! Don't miss out on whatsoever of our new posts–requite us a similar on Facebook !