Cleaning expertise/knowledge needed

[LightArmsJXF]

Hi all,

Continuing on my quest to get my old paintball stuff sorted I've ran into a bit of a problem. I'd forgotten to empty the old paintballs out of numerous pods and they've degraded into semi-solid gloop. "Well that's what happens after they're left for over a decade," I said to myself as I struggled to get the remnants out. I've been trying to clean out the thick goop with liquid dish soap and warm/hot water for the past couple of weeks but all I seem to be doing is ruining sponges & cloths as I spread the goop around the inside of the pods. My stock class tubes seem to have cleaned up ok so I'm assuming that the sheer quantity of goop inside the larger pods is the issue.

My question is this: Is there any standard household cleaning agent that's right for this job? Would drain cleaner be too strong for Fatboy pods and Dye Locklids? Or should I just continue to soak with the dishwashing stuff?

Thanks in advance.


P.S. I'm hoping I don't have to go and buy something like a specialised paintball cleaning agent because, quite simply, I'm in the UK and I'm finding it difficult to find paintball related bits over here after all these years. It's almost like the shops I used to use are pared down to main bits only (no parts and/or accessories) or just plain gone altogether.

[boomersruckus]

Step 1. Throw them away. All of them.
Step 2. Go to nearest field and collect the ones left behind after games.
Step 3. Go to field and leave some behind to continue the cycle.

Pods are the currency of the game. You play, you pay.

[boomersruckus]

Oops. Saw you are from England.

Throw all of them pots away!

[Trbo323]

Pods are like $2 each. How much are these ones worth to you?

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[StaticShocked]

Have you tried 200 degree F water? I am wondering if the goop is mainly ancient gelatin and maybe really hot water would reconstitute it? Or maybe boiling the pods in a large pot with water? This is not a problem i have run into and i am curious to the solution.

[Ecapnation]

Really hot water...

But yeah personally garbage can

[LightArmsJXF]

Thanks for the input all.

The pots were new when I got them and played about 1 or 2 seasons total between them all. I'd struggled to get the Locklids back in the day and I really didn't want to chuck them if they could be cleaned up. It isn't much but it means more money for parts and, eventually, play time.

StaticShocked and Ecapnation were right on the money. Really hot water, and I mean as scalding hot as my hands could withstand, about half a bottle of washing liquid and quite a bit more elbow grease got rid of the goop. It's amazing how quickly the stuff re-solidified as the water cooled slightly. Took me about 20 mins to clean out the worst of them. They're all drying out in the sun now. I just hope I don't find more pods hidden somewhere.

[nerdcore]

I'm glad it worked out! I would legit cry if you had to toss Fat Boy pods. I'm so scared of losing/breaking mine that i don't even bring them to the field. No one in the states carries them, and the one UK site i found hasn't responded to emails - they show 100rd versions that i'd like to get.

[boomersruckus]

You have trailer queen pods? Like.... hi guys, here is my collection of pods and these ones here are very special to me so they will never see the light of day or a playing field. I have them to look at and appreciate but they are too special to actually use so....they sit on my shelf and I look at them longingly.

I am so glad that my mind lets me use my paintball gear. I have a 1 of 20 shark tooth CS2 that is abused worse then those poor epstein kids. I couldnt imagine being afraid to lose or break a pod.

Then again, all of my pods are from the pod recycling system I mentioned in my previous post sooooo, Im sure someone is sad that their nice pods are being used because they lost them at the field. Not you though. You will have those pods added to your casket when the time comes.


trailer queen pods.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA

[ChillswitchEngage]

In the future, would throwing them in the dishwasher, or trying to rinse out with ISO alcohol not work?

[LightArmsJXF]

Unfortunately I don't have a dishwasher and I didn't think of Isopropyl Alcohol. Have you tried it before?

[ChillswitchEngage]

Honestly, I haven't had the need to try anything beyond a quick rinse/shake of water personally, just thought they may work.

[Pyrate Jim]

Denatured alcohol works better than isopropyl. (80% ethanol / 20% mineral spirits)
Especially if it's actually inside the marker. Haven't tried the difference on pods though.
Definitely do not use it on lenses.

[PBGunny]

Throwing away Fat Boy pods is downright an abomination, don't care who you are or where you are.
I got just enough of them to fill my pack and an extra if I lose one.
I'm just about ready to switch over to Dye pods and take my precious Fat Boys out of circulation.

[Trbo323]

Loc lids suck if you ask me. I bought a full 6 pack when they came out so I paid a premium for them and ended up replacing them all eventually

1) the lids don't actually "lock" as the name implies. It's just a standard compression fitting with a lip like all the cheap pods use so I had cases where I bumped one and it popped open.

2) I also had a few they did the opposite and wouldn't open. The little thumb lever is supposed to pop them open but I had a few where that wasn't enough and because there's no space to get a finger in under the lid what I had to do was smack these few on the side of my hopper to get them to pop open. This of course meant spilling some paint, negating the benefit of the larger capacity

3) not to be outdone however, the whole lid assemblies are not glued onto the rest of the pod. It's really fun to try and pull a pod out and have your hand come around your front with nothing but the lid assembly while paint rains down your legs

4) they don't fit in all packs, this exasperated point #3 when they were so tight that the lid assemblies started coming off more often for me.

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[LightArmsJXF]

I'd heard of these problems right after I'd bought my first lot, a dozen smoked, and I started thinking that I'd made yet another expensive mistake by buying them. Then I bought a former team mates lot of red ones a few years later and they seem to be all good too. So I guess I was just lucky that I had packs that were large enough and pods that were solid enough to have never experienced any of these issues.