GTEK rescue & super mech conversion

[lhamilton1807]

Got this beat GTEK in the mail. Paint was crusted in every crevice, and parts of the engine were missing or broken, and the barrel was fused together.

But the price was nice and I wanted a full-time mech anyway. The ano in this was loads of fun. Too bad the previous owner mauled the barrel front trying to get them to separate.

[lhamilton1807]

Separating the barrel halves
This was a fun puzzle. I tried:

1. a heat gun
2. the freezer
3. two strap wrenches
4. penetrating oil

but couldn’t get the barrel pieces to separate. I finally broke down and built the tooling to get this done. Used an old 2x4, a 7/8” spade bit & drill, a circular saw, an old bike tube, and C-clamps to build grippy non-marring barrel separators. The narrow parts of the barrel halves were 13/16” or so wide, so I chose to drill 7/8” holes to give the bike tube some room. Worked pretty well! Slow pressure didn’t do it, so I tried a quick twist and the threads screeched, allowing me to untwist them.

Someone just didn’t think cleaning his gear was worthwhile… the marks in the pictures indicate that when the barrel stuck together they tried wrenches to separate the halves. The paint in the barrel dried out & acted like loctite.

[lhamilton1807]

Cleaning & testing
What. A. Mess. There was paint and mud in the inside of the electronics button. The detents had sat in paint long enough they turned to black goo as I removed them. I was surprised the board, eyes, and solenoid all worked. Thankfully the reg was easy to disassemble and didn’t require a wrench - a few new seals and a reg seat and it was ready to go.

Slapped the core (and OOPS) from my other GTEK in to do testing (red OOPS was drying from a deep clean still) and aired it up. No leaks! Shot great, and it looks good with the black mech frame I had.

[lhamilton1807]

Shopping for parts & upgrades
Needed a few pieces

• spool assembly (how did they snap it in half!?!?)
• spool spring
• spool spring guide
• plunger

For extra sexiness:

• the very last red “weathered” bone gtr from Liquid Paintball
• Deadlywind hAir 45 v2
• a green & earth aluminum feed neck for my HDE Earth GTEK. The black aluminum feed neck I have (not pictured) will go on the red/black mech.

To sell:

• Electro grip frame
• board (no oled)
• Functional wiring harness (with the exception of the solenoid & pilot valve. I’ll keep those for spares)

[PBGunny]

Some people are just not compatible with nice things.
Congrats on the rescue.

[DieManInTheRough]

This is the saddest state i've ever seen a PE marker, especially one with custom anno. *Headshake* Great job with the resto, hope it gets out there to shwack some more.

[lhamilton1807]

Painting faces with this is definitely the goal. I love the e-frame - it’s comfy and easy to walk. But the mech frame is tons of fun. The new valve and trigger shoe should make it an absolute beast.

[iamthelazerviking]

Seems like previous owner didn't know about reverse threaded barrel and ruined it

[lhamilton1807]

Yes, the marks on the barrel indicate they tried to get it separated with some hard surface or wrench. It was just paint inside the barrel threads, just like everywhere else. All they had to do was take care of their stuff and it would have saved the ano. It could have been that they just tightened the pieces together, but I think the dried paint also served as loctite.

The threads and barrel bore are fine so it’ll still function. I’ll be on the lookout for a new tip - would be cool to have this looking nice again.

[Grendel]

It amazes my how poorly some players treat equipment. I am anything but anal about my markers, they are tools and get used and abused at times but I try to use them for what they are meant for and at least wipe them down and swab out the barrels and put them in neoprene sleeves at the end of the day. I pity anyone who becomes attached to someone who cares for their equipment this poorly.

[lhamilton1807]

I feel the same. Even my loaner blowbacks are cleaned after every game I host, and that means a few hours of cleaning. The smiles are worth it.

On the other hand, I get deep satisfaction from resurrecting dead markers. This one will be a keeper. It’ll see the field.