Guns in Storage - when to rebuild?

[nelsonizer]

Hi All,

I'm coming back to paintball after a couple years and getting my gear out of storage.
Have had several guns sitting for several years in non-temperature controlled attic in the midwest.

Do you think they will be good to go out of the box, or should I stock up on full rebuild kits before I get it out of storage?

Guns are a mixture of autocockers, phantoms, tippmans, and mags and I didn't do any specific prep work before putting them away besides cleaning and oiling.

Thoughts?

[XEMON]

First thing I would do is a few drop of oil in the asa and air them up ... See what you got ...

Phantom, mag and Tippmann are likely good, cocker is gonna be hit and miss on the switch and regs ...

But first step is a drop of oil and air them up ..

Keep us posted and welcome back

[FredMnkyDad10]

But first step is a drop of oil and air them up ..

Keep us posted and welcome back

Wrong, first step is take pictures and have us drooling over what you got

[Trbo323]

Yeah it probably took you longer to type that up than it would to just test one or two

I'd get the rings on hand regardless of if you plan to rebuild or not though.

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[autococker04]

I get nervous airing up electros that have been sitting without checking out the orings, but anything mechanical just give it a try.

[MrBarraclough]

Go ahead and get your hands on the appropriately sized urethane o-rings for the mags at least. Urethane is prone to drying out and cracking. Drop some oil in the ASAs, air 'em up, and see what sounds they make (hopefully nothing other than the beautiful little "tic" of the trigger rod tapping the back of the trigger, followed by sweet, sweet silence). If all goes well, they may be good to play. If you have the air and paint for it, though, I'd put them through their paces as much as possible at home before heading out to the field.

It has been my experience that old seals have a frustrating tendency to hold up to static pressure for a couple of minutes of home testing and then give out in actual use on the field. So my standard advice is always a complete tear down and rebuild whenever seals of dubious age and condition are involved. But if it has been only a couple of years you might be okay. I would at least be prepared to rebuild though. Grab an AGD kit or two, plus maybe a few spares of the less common sized o-rings.

If you find an leak anywhere on a marker that has been in storage, then I would highly recommend a complete rebuild. And by complete, I mean unscrewing all the fittings and reapplying teflon tape or teflon grease, puting new o-rings in any QD fittings, etc. Better to do one thorough rebuild than take the thing apart a half dozen times playing whack-a-mole with leaks. As you fix one, another seal becomes the new weakest link in the system and consequently fails. Been there, done that, would not recommend it.

[Jonnydread]

If I were in your shoes I would take them apart and inspect/oil/grease everything. Not 100% necessary per se, but could save you from headaches in the long run.

[punkncat]

Would pick the one(s) you actually intend on using and do the rebuild before you get to the field. Tune them when you get there.

I had asked a friend to sell me his Mini which was put up working (and dirty, I found) stored for the past two or three years in his closet and it came out not working. I have had very similar results with mags much as the picture above explains. The only marker I have gotten recently that sat for a super long period in a storage tote outside and actually worked was a Tippmann. I think that just came down to luck, but the only thing it needed was a new detent.

[Trbo323]

I get nervous airing up electros that have been sitting without checking out the orings, but anything mechanical just give it a try.

...... But....... They use the same o rings.....

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[autococker04]

I’m mostly concerned that a regulator will decide it’s done regulating, and let through enough pressure to blow a noid.

[Seajay]

I always pull the bolt and lube the things that normally need lubing. You can make a decision then, if the o-rings are fine then it should be all good.
Guns like a Timmy need lubing anyways, which is very easy to do.

[flyweightnate]

Anything urethane NEEDS a rebuild. The material degrades much more quickly, and catastrophically, than nitrile o-rings.

Just yesterday my tank went down on the field. Dumping air from the bonnet, 45 cubic inches in under 15 minutes. I had tested with it all week, so quite the surprise.

The piston o ring had split three places, plus separated into two halves the long way. Urethane goo everywhere.

Hammer/ striker o-rings, regulator pistons, rams, tank valves... they all use urethane (at least some models) since it's tougher, but it does NOT age well. And it fails suddenly and catastrophically, instead of gradual hardening and slow leaks like nitrile/ buna.

[nelsonizer]

Hmm, should be a second box around here somewhere...
I seem to remember also owning gear, but with the time I used to spend on here, maybe it was just a pile of guns?

[nelsonizer]

I think I can handle the cockers and nelsons, but the Automag and the regulators scare me a little.

Can you rebuild a reg? And by that I mean, should a normal person try to rebuild a CP reg or mag valve?
I'm decently handy, but the whole tiny parts bearing high pressure gas thing sounds like it could result in wearing a pirate patch afterwards.

[Jonnydread]

I'm not a mag guy, but as far as I know mags have a lot of parts, but aren't super complicated. Same with most regs. I rebuild my CP/CCM/WGP regs every couple of months during the heavy playing season. Just be sure there's no lingering air in them (dry fire the gun before you start) and be sure you put everything back together the proper way. Here's the link for the CP reg info: https://www.customproducts.us/products/download/

[Toestr]

You'll be fine, especially the automag. Classic valves are rated to 3000psi. Just buy a parts kit and you're golden. For the regs, just make sure to get the appropriate size/material/hardness orings. The seats on ones that aren't produced any more might be an issue. The CP you have will be fine, maybe not the evil. With regulators, the risk with over pressurization is more damaging a valve/solenoid than it is rupturing.

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