How To Clean And Maintain Your Paintball Marker

Cleaning notes: This is a general explanation for use with most paintball markers. If you are looking for an in depth do it yourself gun specific cleaning this is not for you.

Caution before you start, remove ammo and propellant. For example remove the co2 tank and paint balls. It is also a good idea to keep the gun on safe.

If you have ever used your paintball gun during a full day of play or even one game in some cases, your gun may have been shot, gotten dirty, or have broken paint inside it. This guide will help you clean your gun for storage or in preparation for the next game. NOTE: paintball guns should be cleaned after each day of use so that the internal parts do not get gummed up or stuck, and then would be in need of repair.


1.) First of all to clean the outside of the gun, you will need to clean any dirt or paint off of the outside of the gun using a damp paper towel (caution: if your gun has electronics do not get any water near them), then follow up and dry with a dry paper towel.

2.) Once the outside of your marker is clean, proceed to remove the barrel and squeegee or clean by sliding a wet paper towel down the barrel followed by a dry one. It is much easier to use a squeegee and I recommended you do so, it is also great to have one on the field when you brake paint in the barrel while playing. (NOTE: some guns may have the ability of cleaning the barrel without removing it from the gun (For example, through the hopper feed neck.)

3.) Next with the barrel off, use a paper towel to clean the area where the barrel screws on to the marker, and the front of the bolt. Some guns it is very simple to remove the bolt completely and clean the entire upper part of the marker.

4.) After, remove the paintball hopper and check to see the inside is clean, if not clean with water and set aside for it to dry, speed up drying with a dry paper towel. With the hopper off, use a paper towel to clean the neck where the hopper slides on, the top of the bolt, and the bolt area when it is in the cocked position.

5.) Lastly, put about five drops of paintball gun oil in the hole where the co2 tank screws on and then fire a few shots. What this will do is lubricate all of the moving parts and finally your marker is ready for storage, or you have just prepared it for another round of play.