Purchasing an airsoft gun and never cleaning or maintaining information technology is a lot like purchasing a car and never taking information technology to a mechanic - it'll work fine for a while, only eventually you are going to come across bug. Non only is cleaning an airsoft gun and keeping it maintained essential for extending the lifespan of your costly investment, but information technology'southward also essential for optimizing your gun's performance. If you aren't sure how to clean an airsoft gun or where to become started keeping one maintained, we at RedWolf Airsoft are hither to help. In this article, we'll cover everything you lot demand to know about how to clean an airsoft gun, including how to clean your electric airsoft AEG , spring , and gas guns alike.

How Oft Should Y'all Clean Your Guns?

It is recommended that yous clean your airsoft guns after every menses of extended use. That doesn't hateful they need to be cleaned every unmarried fourth dimension you fire them, but if you spend all twenty-four hour period at the field putting hundreds of rounds through your gun then it's a good idea to give information technology a thorough cleaning when you get dwelling. While this may sound like quite the hassle, cleaning an airsoft gun should only take fifteen minutes or so if you apply the right tools and follow the correct procedures.

Get the Correct Tools for the Job

Speaking of the right tools, at that place are a couple of airsoft gun cleaning tools that yous will desire to exist sure and purchase if your gun did not come included with them. The first and arguably most essential airsoft cleaning tool is a barrel cleaning/unjamming rod. In add-on to helping you remove Bulletin board system that become lodged in your gun's barrel in the event of a jam, this rod besides features an zipper point for attaching cleaning patches that volition allow you to scrub the inside of your gun's barrel. Cleaning patches can be purchased from any store that sells airsoft supplies, and you can also use cleaning patches that are designed for real-steel firearms if you cut them downward to size. Making your own cleaning patches out of an quondam t-shirt or other slice of material is an option as well.

Cleaning Rod and Lubricant

Many cleaning patches come pre-lubricated with gun oil that will prevent your gun's metallic components from rusting. If you don't take pre-lubricated patches, though, y'all will desire to be sure and purchase a bottle of gun oil likewise. Finally, you may need tools such every bit a pocket-size screwdriver or set of Allen keys to detach your airsoft gun when information technology'south time for a more than thorough cleaning.

What are the Most Of import Parts to Pay Attention to?

It's worth mentioning get-go that the specific components within an airsoft gun will differ from gun to gun. An electric airsoft gun, for case, functions much differently than a jump-powered gun and has different components that must be cared for as office of your gun'south regular cleaning and maintenance. For the purpose of this section, though, we are going to focus on the important components/maintenance priorities that are common to all types of airsoft guns. In the next section, we'll dive into more platform-specific cleaning and maintenance procedures.

Gun Barrel Maintenance

Inner Barrel Cleaning is Essential for Better Accuracy and Functioning - Click on Photograph for More Inner Barrels

The inner barrels of airsoft guns are made out of either steel, aluminum, or brass - all of which are prone to corrosion if they are non kept properly lubricated. This is why it is important to always clean the inner barrel of your airsoft gun using a cleaning patch that has been soaked in gun oil that is designed to prevent corrosion.

In addition to preventing corrosion, it's also essential to clean your gun'due south barrel regularly in order to remove any residue or droppings that might take built up. When a BB is fired through the gun'due south butt, piffling flakes of plastic often rub off and are left behind. Over fourth dimension, these flakes of plastic along with any dust or dirt that happens to go inside your butt tin build upward and negatively affect the gun'south performance. Running a cleaning patch through your barrel afterward each period of extended apply ensures that all of this residue and droppings is removed before your next outing.

Exterior Maintenance

Many of the exterior components of an airsoft gun are typically made out of plastic or metal, and these components won't actually require a lot of care aside from wiping them downwards occasionally. Nonetheless, if there are any exterior components of your gun that are made out of metallic, though, you will desire to wipe them down gun oil later every utilise in guild to foreclose rust and corrosion.

Lubrication

GHK Makes Some of the Airsoft Best Lubricants - Clink on Photo for More Information

Along with the gun's inner barrel, at that place are a number of other internal components within your airsoft gun that will require frequent lubrication to proceed performance properly. These components tin differ from gun to gun depending on the model that you own, and the process of accessing them tin differ equally well. For basic lubrication, though, all yous have to do is access the gun's action either through the magazine well or by sliding dorsum the bolt. Spraying a little lubricant upward through the magazine well or into the bolt assembly will become a long fashion toward keeping your gun's internal components well lubricated. Occasionally, like in the case of gas pistols or rifles, you lot volition want to disassemble your gun and more properly lubricate its internal components, and we'll explain how to exercise this for each type of airsoft gun in the side by side section.

Platform-Specific Maintenance and Cleaning

A big part of knowing how to clean an airsoft gun is knowing how to detach and reassemble information technology again so that you are able to access and clean all of its internal components. While this may sound a little daunting if you don't take much experience working with airsoft guns, the good news is that disassembling and reassembling an airsoft gun is typically a relatively straightforward process. With that said, the exact steps you lot volition demand to follow depends on the type of airsoft gun that you own, keeping in mind that cleaning the gun's inner barrel and wiping downwards its exterior components are too steps that demand to be followed for every type of airsoft gun.

Electric Airsoft Gun Maintenance

Cross Section of Version 2 Gearbox - Bank check Out more Gearbox Parts

For electric airsoft guns, AEG guns, the biggest challenge is conducting regular maintenance to the gearbox. Though there are many unlike versions, the maintenance process is more or less the same. Disassemble and reassembling a gearbox can be tricky; if y'all aren't comfortable doing it yourself, be certain to bring it over to a reputable airsoft tech to do it for you.

Showtime past carefully disassembling the AEG to accept out the gearbox and motor. Some AEGs may not have a gearbox. If then, merely completely remove all the internal parts. Be certain to recall how to reassemble them back, characterization the parts if you lot have to.

Next, degrease all the moving parts. The gears can be soaked in cleaners like acetone, or other degrease solution, or you can just utilize a piece of tissue and some wiping alcohol to clean all the internal parts. Be aware that some plastic/ condom parts may non react well to the cleaning solutions, so be certain to choose one that tin can move oil/ grease without dissolving plastic or rubber.

Degrease and Clean

Once all of the parts have been degreased, dry out them using a rag then reapply a thin layer of grease/ lubricant to all moving parts. In this part you will need to exist careful, you will demand to apply just the correct amount of grease; not likewise much, not as well trivial. Too niggling lubrication will have no effect and could speed upwards clothing and tear. Likewise much grease could gunk up the gearbox, excess grease might block some of the electronics causing potential malfunction.

While everything is disassembled, have a minute to check the motor'due south condition. Unless it is a brushless motor, you volition desire to come across if the carbon brush is depleted or not. Brushed motors have carbon brushes on them and volition slowly deplete when used. If the carbon brush is most depleted, it is a expert idea to replace it with a new motor (be sure to get one with the aforementioned RPM unless you are upgrading it). As well, check the pinion gear on the motor to see if there are any microfractures/cracks on information technology.

Typical AEG Motor - Click on Photo for More Information

The terminal step is to reassemble everything back together. Put all the internal parts back into the gearbox and assemble the AEG back to an airsoft gun. Subsequently, plug in the battery fire a few rounds just to make sure it is running fine and smooth. Subsequently that, you are washed!

Gas Gun Maintenance

The internal mechanisms inside gas airsoft guns are non quite every bit circuitous every bit those inside an AEG, making gas guns a little easier to disassemble and maintain. Start by removing the bolt carrier group associates from your gun then dissembling it into its individual components. Next, follow the aforementioned process for degreasing these parts that you would follow for an AEG.

Gas Blowback Burglarize Parts

In one case these components have been degreased, dry them off and apply a thin layer of lubricant to each part. For gas guns, information technology'due south besides of import to spay a fiddling silicone gun oil inside the nozzle seal of your magazines and inside the piston of your gun's bolt assembly in order to prevent plastic parts inside these components from drying out. Once this is complete, you are set up to reassemble your gun and fire off a few rounds to brand sure everything is functioning properly.

Spring Gun Maintenance

Spring and Piston Head

Cleaning and maintaining a jump-powered airsoft gun is quite like to the process of cleaning a gas gun, only even simpler. With spring airsoft guns, all you demand to practice is disable the gun's commodities assembly, degrease and lubricate each individual component, then reassemble the gun. Spring airsoft guns do not crave the application of silicone oil like gas guns and do not accept a gearbox that needs to be dissembled and cleaned like AEGs, so once you've cleaned all of the components inside the gun'southward bolt associates y'all are ready to put the gun back together. Do pay special attending to the spring within the gun, though, and make sure that it is well lubricated so that information technology will maintain its force for as long every bit possible.