New field questions for field owners or field helpers

[Akm]

I’ve been playing paintball for years and took a couple year hiatus. 2020, being the year it has been, has made me want to get back in to it. I researched my local fields (of which I only found one). I saw that they needed help so I figured why not?! I get to know the players and work a little bit extra and meet people and then I get free paint entry and admission. Not a bad deal. Here’s the thing though...The owner and business manager of the place never really played paintball. They’re there for the business side of things (which sounds ridiculous - it’s paintball ffs there’s not a killing to be made) suffice to say that I am the most paintball experienced person in the business so they come to me for a lot of things now that are paintball/operations related. I can handle most of it but I was hoping I could find some advice from other people that have owned or worked at fields before.

1 - what is the best way to bulk clean the masks? I know that the best way to clean a mask no matter what is to take it a part but for our small operation and 100 masks that they put away caked in paint I was hoping there would be a way that you know of to bulk clean masks? A dishwasher was brought up at one point....

[Akm]

I should probably mention too that the masks are valken rental masks with a rubber-ish padding around the lenses and not your typical foam so water isn’t a concern with that

[rawbutter]

I don't own a field but I often play with 6-8 guys who "rent" masks and markers from me. Best way I've found to clean a bunch of masks is to dip them one at a time in a big bucket of warm water. Then rinse them with a hose and let them air dry, preferably with a fan blowing on them.

If the masks have double-pane thermal lenses, however, I'm not sure you should fully submerse them. Water might get between the layers.

[DocsMachine]

We used a garden sprayer full of plain water and a soft brush.That was good enough for 99% of the time, but occasionally we'd take a day with a bucket of warm, soapy water (after hours) and a couple old toothbrushes and do a "deep clean".

Doc.

[Toestr]

If they're single pane, I'd just either spray them down with a hose, or dunk them in a large bucket of water and wipe them with cloth. If they're dual pane, take the lense out and do the same.

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[Akm]

Thanks for the replies guys! I’m going to pick up the masks from the field tomorrow and then just spend some time throughout the week with them since I have a hose at the house. I’ll definitely give the soaking tub idea a try too

[Akm]

Also wondering if anyone has suggestions for cleaning the field?

[Toestr]

What needs to be done? If it's caked on paint, I've seen people use a tiger torch and paint scraper to remove it.

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[shadow191]

Don't submerge thermal lenses. I would be hesitant to even hose them down with water as if it sits on the foam long enough it might leak through.

[Akm]

It’s not caked on paint that we’re talking about but mostly just like cleaning off the paint from the day of play. Like I said we don’t really have water out there so we can’t just hose the bunkers or field off and then go home for the night.

[shadow191]

If it's an outdoor field, what are you cleaning? At local field, I usually play in afternoon until 5 when they close. They basically just throw everything into back of truck and take it down the street to their warehouse. But I've never seen them actually clean the field.

[Akm]

Ah sorry you’re right I should clarify. It’s a turf speedball field. The bunkers stay on the field every night. So really it’s just getting the shells, broken or not, off the field for the cleanest possible surface. We may not NEED to clean the paint off the field but we want to.

[punkncat]

Dishwasher, cold water, no soaps.