Airsoft Gun Maintenance Guide
Keeping your Airsoft guns maintained means longer lasting guns for longer lasting games and play! Knowing how to keep your airsoft gun clean, which Airsoft bb's to use, how to load properly, unjamming them, etc are all crucial components to keeping your guns in quality condition!
Cleaning Airsoft guns
When cleaning your airsoft gun, never use strong solvents, strong cleansers, or petroleum lubricants. You only need to use a soft, damp cloth.
Use the cloth to clean the exterior and spray silicone spray to clean inside the barrel. The silicone spray has to be 100% silicone.
If you want to perform maintenance on the interior of the airsoft gun's gearbox mechanisms, it is highly recommended that they be performed by a professional. Never soak the airsoft gun with any lubricants - especially water.
Airsoft electric guns (AEG's) and Airsoft spring guns only require minimal cleaning. The barrel is the most important part of the airsoft gun and it should be cleaned on a regular basis.
To clean the barrel properly, take a cleaning rod and a .22 caliber patch
If the hop up is on, you can damage the hop up and cleaning rod can become stuck. Insert your cleaning rod inside the barrel.
Inside of the barrel needs to be wiped down in a back and forth motion. Remove the .22 caliber patch from your cleaning rod. Use a new, dry patch inside the slit.
You will have to repeat the process to clear out the remaining residue, that was left over from inside the barrel.
Once you have cleaned the barrel, test fire your airsoft gun and turn the hop up to zero. It is recommended that if you have a AEG gearbox, you have to clean and relubricate it every 6 months. Do not perform the gearbox cleaning yourself, a trained professional has to clean it.
Airsoft BBs - Which to Use?
Only use a high quality brand of BBs. Poor quality BBs causes damage to your airsoft gun and the barrel. The damage is caused by the BBs being poorly manufactured.
High quality airsoft guns are designed to use 0.20 gram weights BBs. Any BBs that are lighter than 0.20 grams can and most likely will jam or break.
Never reuse BBs. Reusing BBs may cause a breakage or jam in your airsoft gun. If you are not sure on which BBs to use, contact WarriorCat Enterprises. Pat Nolan of WarriorCat Enterprises can recommend what BBs to use for your airsoft gun.
Loading magazines
Always read your users' manual on how to load magazines.
Your BBs have to be clean and new. Deformed or dirty BBs may cause your gun mechanisms and magazines to jam.
Keep dirt, debris and any other residue away from your magazines and BBs. The staple from your BBs bag has to be removed and thrown away. If you do not remove or throw the staple away, it will jam your magazines.
Frequently lubricate all of your magazines by spraying small amounts of 100% silicone lubricant inside the magazine.
If your suspect your magazine to have dust and dirt inside of them, disassemble your magazine and clean it. Contact your local airsoft gun dealer on how to accomplish this.
Hicap (high capacity) magazines are complex. 50 BBs have to be inserted into the magazine for it to feed reliably. 20 BBs are always left in the magazine.
A fully loaded, wound magazine typically shoots between 50%-75% of the magazine's capacity before rewinding.
When you hear a clicking noise from your magazine, it is over wound. If a hicap magazine jams, find a solid surface and tap the side of the magazine. Tapping the side of the magazine, the winding wheel will unjam.
Unjamming airsoft guns
Reasons why airsoft guns jam:
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excessive dirt
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debris and residue inside the barrel
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dirty or deformed BBs
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dirt and debris inside the magazine
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hop up is too tight
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deformed or damaged hop up
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damaged tappet plate
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a damaged nozzle
What To Do If Your BB is Jammed
If a BB jams in your airsoft gun, immediately stop firing. If you persist on firing, it could lead to a broken piston or gear.
Take your cleaning rod and use the opposite end. The tip of the cleaning rod has an angle that is slanted. The hop up has to be turned off completely. Insert the opposite end of the cleaning rod inside the barrel.
Turn the airsoft gun upside down, look inside the magazine and gently force the BB inside the magazine. Test fire the airsoft gun, once the BBs have been removed from the barrel.
If the airsoft gun sounds good to you, test fire again with the BBs. If the jamming continues, you will need to contact an airsoft dealer in your area.
Airsoft gun maintenance is very vital to your success in airsoft. Your airsoft gun will last longer and the performance of your gun be improved. You have to clean your airsoft gun on a regular basis.
