Help - My new Sterling SC is breaking paint constantly

[paintAndy]

Hello there, I'm new to paintball, I picked up a new sterling SC a few months ago and I have had nothing but problems with it. I keep bringing it to the field excited to play with it and leave dissapointed. The marker breaks paint like crazy, almost every ball. I feel like I've tried everything and I could use some help.

The first time I played with it, we were using winter paint, I wasn't having too much trouble with balls breaking, but I was having trouble with rollouts. I have the freak bored barrel option, but only had larger size inserts .684,.687, .689.

Next I bought a smaller insert .675 which I thought would help with rollouts. The day that I went to try the marker again, the field had some new paint for spring. I had a really bad time with paint breaking in the barrel and had to stop using the sterling that day.

I thought maybe the insert was now too small, so I 3d printed a bunch of freedummy detent rings and figured I would go back to a larger bore freak insert.

Again, I was breaking paint non-stop. Almost every ball.

I've been doing some testing and what I beleive is happening is a combination of the current paint my local field is using being overly brittle, and the open face bolt on the sterling SC being way too harsh on the paint. I did some test shots of the paint and noticed that the paint ball doesn't break into one or two pieces, but breaks up into like 25 tiny pieces, this makes me think that the paint is brittle, but again, I'm a noob and don't really know anything.

It seems like the initial burst of air coming out of the bolt is shattering the paint in my barrel. I don't think that the marker is chopping paint in the feed as there is no paint in the breach.

Assuming that this is correct, and that the marker is too harsh for the paint that my local field uses, what now? Is the marker now only good as a paperweight or is there a way to make it softer on paint? Would a custom bolt with diffuser be the solution?

I have tried adjusting velocity, but wasn't having much luck there either. Originally I couldn't get the marker to fire over 240fps. I changed the main spring to the stiffer one that comes with it and with the adjuster fully backed off I am shooting anywhere between 220fps and 270fps inconsistetly.

I'm fairly sure that the rest of the marker is clean and oiled well, I took the marker apart and I've cleaned and oiled the crap out of it.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Hellion360]

If you drop a ball from about a 6ft height onto concrete it should bounce.
It should take 3-5 drops onto concrete to break.

Try it out and see if your balls are just smashing.

[SignOfZeta]

I can only imagine the frustration with this...

We need to isolate the problem as much as possible to determine the issue.

The bolt is not the issue. I rip AT like a MF all day and all night with my late model Sterling. Never does it break anything. The bolt is fine.

If others are using the same paint then the paint is fine.

Combining inserts with freaks makes no sense.

Cock gun, remove barrel, is the ball broken? If not then, like you are thinking, it's breaking on firing.

If that's correct then the issues are that the barrel is defective, that it isn't fitting right, or that there are issues with freak fitment.

Is there anyone around with a similar gun? If not, maybe you should post pics just so can make sure there isn't anything obviously wrong with it or incorrectly assembled.

Also, "oiled the crap out of it" sounds like too much oil. You only need the lightest of film on a few areas.

[Frmrspec]

Couple of things 1.) .675 is really really small.. and depending where you are mornings could still be quite chilly, this could lead to brittle paint if the field doesn’t keep it in a temperature controlled room.

2.)Part of the design flaw of the Sterling is that when the new owners converted them over to Spyder barrel threads, they left a significant gap in the breech between where the bolt rests at its forward most position, and where the barrel starts. In older Sterlings the barrel went all the way back to the face of the bolt (when at rest)… as it sits currently the blast of air starts accelerating the ball, just for it to hit the heavy ridge at the start of the insert. And we all know what happens then.. the logical solution would be to make a longer bolt, HOWEVER that’s not possible because the pump stroke is limited by the drive rod connected to the hammer catch… it’s all a bit wonky.

that’s why there’s posts about moving the feedneck forward, or machining the body for an insert, or people making bodies from scratch.

now I could be wrong because it’s been a while since I’ve used a stock sterling but that’s what I remember off hand

[paintAndy]

Wow, thank you all of you for the quick and thorough replies.

Hellion360, I did the drop test indoors on a main-level floor that is plastic laminate tile over wood which should be more forgiving than concrete - the balls consistently break on the first drop when dropped from 6ft...

SignOfZeta Others are using the same paint without issue, but at my field it's a real mix of markers. Lots of modern markers such as planet eclipse emeks, etha3m, those people seem to be having no issues with the paint. I don't have any issue with the paint when I fire it through my etha3m, but I know these modern markers are known to be much softer on paint. I was speaking with someone using an empire sniper yesterday and he said he was having ball breaks every 5 or so balls. I know that empire snipers are known to be easier on paint than phantoms and I assume that the phantoms and sterlings are in the same ballpark.

I tested airing up the marker, cocking, and removing the barrel; I did this with both the detent ring and without detent ring and no broken paint in either case. it seems to only break when the marker fires the shot.

I have used two different barrels and i have the same results. picked up a deadlywinds fibur x also using freak inserts and it breaks paint just the same as the stock barrel.

When I say "oiled the crap out of it" I mean that I applied an appropriate amount of oil, haha. Mine arrived bone dry with no oil anywhere to be found. All of the parts of the marker are moving freely and smoothly and seem to be operating great.

[Hellion360]

That is unusually brittle paint.

[SignOfZeta]

My guess is that all your inserts are too small. In one way or another this is a freak/barrel problem. Maybe they freaked it off center? I suspect a standard barrel and a piece of black vinyl tape would totally fix this.

I have Sniper/Phantom/Sterling/Trracer I wouldn’t describe any of them as hard or easy on paint. I get breaks very very rarely in any of them. I don’t use freaks.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Are you sure you are not double feeding.

Overbore remove your barrel detents dose it still break paint?

Try different paint.

Something isn’t right if you break paint. Maybe take some pictures of the breach and your barrel. Is your freak insert bent or out of round possibility?

Mine shoots brittle stuff just fine. Even with CO2 with the heavy springs.

[paintAndy]

My guess is that all your inserts are too small. In one way or another this is a freak/barrel problem. Maybe they freaked it off center? I suspect a standard barrel and a piece of black vinyl tape would totally fix this.

I have Sniper/Phantom/Sterling/Trracer I wouldn’t describe any of them as hard or easy on paint. I get breaks very very rarely in any of them. I don’t use freaks.

I hope that it's just the paint, especially given how my local fields paint spectacularly fails the drop test that Hellion360 suggested.

The .689 insert that I have is the most common barrel diameter I think. If I drop a ball through that insert it will fall right through...

I could beleive that the stock barrel could be bored off center for the freak, but the deadlywinds fibur x is very popular barrel and I'm having the same results when I use it. I doubt that the deadlywinds barrel would be bored off center.

If I inspect the barrel and breach with a light I don't see any edges or anything protruding. It looks flush and continous.

SignOfZeta You've reassured me that the bolt and that marker should fire reliably with only rare breakages. I guess I will use another marker while I wait until my field changes paint. I saw that they had a new paint this weekend, but I was still using leftover from last weekend. Once I get some of the new paint I will try the sterling again.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Could be inconsistent in size to. If you drop a hand full threw you getting some over size or egg shape?

anyone else have problems with this paint or just you.

[paintAndy]

Could be inconsistent in size to. If you drop a hand full threw you getting some over size or egg shape?

anyone else have problems with this paint or just you.

Almost all egg shape. pretty consistenly measuring .65 x .69 in different axis.

I haven't seen anyone else having as much trouble as I was. I was just spraying spurts of broken paint 20ft in front of me all day. Eventually I got bored of standing there not being able to participate and I left early... Someone with an empire sniper said they were breaking every 5th ball or so. People with newer markers were having no problems.

[paintAndy]

Here is a photodump, maybe someone smart will spot something that doesn't look right (other than the paint, lol)

[coyote]

Have you checked the feedneck and the stock feed?

Thru the years I have seen burrs or other machining problems that damaged paint before it hit the breech.

[Myrkul]

Where in the barrel are the breaks happening? Near the breach? A few inches into the barrel? It's got a wire detent in it, so check to see if that detent needs to be bent at all. If the detent is too far forward, it might be letting the paintball roll forward a bit too much. This would mean that the paintball above it is sitting too low, so the edge of the bolt smacks it on the forward pump stroke and cracks the shell, but not enough to cause a break in the breach. When the burst of air hits it, it starts to shoot then self destructs a few inches into the barrel because of the crack.

That's the first thing I'd check anyway.

[SignOfZeta]

Where in the barrel are the breaks happening? Near the breach? A few inches into the barrel? It's got a wire detent in it, so check to see if that detent needs to be bent at all. If the detent is too far forward, it might be letting the paintball roll forward a bit too much. This would mean that the paintball above it is sitting too low, so the edge of the bolt smacks it on the forward pump stroke and cracks the shell, but not enough to cause a break in the breach. When the burst of air hits it, it starts to shoot then self destructs a few inches into the barrel because of the crack.

That's the first thing I'd check anyway.

This is an auto cocker style detent. The bolt pushes the ball past it when closing. It only prevents double feeds, not rollouts. So even if the detent was in the wrong position (which I doubt) the problem would only occur if he was a slow as hell pumper.

After thinking about it and reading other posts I think the paint is the main issue combined with too small of freaks. Even with this paint I think a stock barrel combined with tape or quality wedgits would fix the issue.

[Grendel]

I think you are right Zeta, in the Sterling once a ball is loaded it sits in front of the bolt, beyond the detent and sites in a bore in the body behind the barrel. If you have too small a bore for the shape and size of the balls when the ball is fired it has to jump over that transition. This can quite easily cause balls to break. In general you want bore to increase as the bolt is fired and travels away from the bolt. The measurements on the paint has a huge amount of variation (you are shooting eggs not balls). This is why I like slight overbore and use of Wedgits or Freedummy detents (especially with the crappy paint that is normal now).

[flyweightnate]

If the equator is .690, you can use a good .688 barrel and be fine. Pick something barely tight enough to prevent rollouts.

I'm considering boring my body for an insert that sits half in the barrel, half in the breech, so the pump stroke will "seat" the ball past the transition. I just haven't had the chance yet. It would really force your hand, though, to use only that custom barrel or that custom insert in the future. On my old Sterling, I made a longer bolt and moved the whole feedneck forward since it was a janky body anyways.

Really, though, just hope your next batch of paint is better. Phantoms have a similar transition into the barrel and typically work OK, so it's just with the bad paint it'll be a challenge. I love brittle paint, but it can go too far.