WORKSHOP BASIC MAINTENANCE - PART ONE
LOCKDOWN AIRSOFT MAINTENANCE FRENCHIE HAS BEEN MAINTAINING KIT FOR LONGER THEN WE DARE MENTION, AND STARTS THIS NEW SERIES WITH SOME SIMPLE, BASIC MAINTENANCE TIPS.
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tuck at home and nothing to do? Time to look after your kit – assuming you don’t already! With Covid-19 rampant and many of us finding out that we aren’t actually essential workers, you may be wondering what to do with all this time – given that you can’t go outside… Well, if nothing else, this is a perfect opportunity to do some basic maintenance on your airsoft guns and gear, so this month I’ll run down the genuinely basic stuff, jobs that require few if any tools yet which will prolong the life of your guns and improve their performance. Forgive me if I’m teaching my Granny to suck eggs but we all have differing levels of experience when it comes to these things.
IN THE BEGINNING…
I’ll start with a couple of statements… Airsoft guns, electric guns especially, need only simple maintenance to keep going, often for many years. There is no need to go deep-diving inside their guts on a regular basis unless it gives you pleasure and I have always warned people off doing so unless necessary. The old rule of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is one I have really come to appreciate with age and experience! I encourage you to think of the gearbox inside your gun as a sealed system – it isn’t – but it can be treated as such, especially
these days. Overall reliability has improved over the years, as has performance, which used to be the greatest reason for opening gearboxes. With most sites happy with 350 fps, or maybe a bit more, the old Marui standard of around 280 fps looks well out of place. Fortunately, the likes of G&G, Krytac etc. are producing guns which are performing far closer to player’s expectations these days. Secondly, they do not need “servicing”. Most techs will do it if you insist because why wouldn’t they? Most of the ones I know will tell you that it’s not necessary. So, what does need to be done? First and foremost: cleaning. Good old fashioned getting rid of the muck. Although functionally very different from firearms (I’ll come to gas blowbacks in a later issue) airsoft guns work better when they are clean and free from obstructions. Therefore, if you are one of those players who treats his guns very much as a tool – if it gets wet and muddy so be it – then this is especially applicable to you. If your guns are mucky, clean them, whether that’s a quick wipe down with a damp sponge or something more convoluted. There is seldom any need to disassemble an airsoft gun to clean it, unless you have dropped it into a ditch filled with liquid mud. In that case, yes, you are going to have to strip it and if you aren’t confident with that, I suggest you wipe the worst off, then take it to a tech. I have rebuilt a few guns over the years following the presentation of a bag of
“THERE IS NO NEED TO GO DEEP-DIVING INSIDE THEIR GUTS ON A REGULAR BASIS UNLESS IT GIVES YOU PLEASURE AND I HAVE ALWAYS WARNED PEOPLE OFF DOING SO UNLESS NECESSARY. THE OLD RULE OF “IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT” IS ONE I HAVE REALLY COME TO APPRECIATE WITH AGE AND EXPERIENCE!” 44
MAY 2020
