Be advised! There are lots of people and even airsoft shops in the airsoft world that are cleaning their inner barrels the wrong way. We once followed the wrong advises ourselves which lead to inaccurate BBs and scratched inner barrels!
Before we dig into this subject, make sure to have a look at our store reconbrothers.com/shop to support us in what we do.
3 MAJOR QUESTIONS TO CLEAN AN AIRSOFT GUN ITS BARREL:
1. WHAT PRODUCT SHOULD I USE?
Most people are either cleaning their inner barrel with silicone oil or some sort of cleaning alcohol. But silicone oil is meant to lubricate moving parts and leaves oil traces behind that attracts dirt. Also cleaning alcohol is being used which evaporates quickly, but makes your hop-up bucking dry out over time which will affects its functionality.
Always make sure to have an inner barrel that is dry and free of any dirt to get the best performance!
2. WHAT FABRICS CAN I USE?
We’ve seen a lot of people making use of pieces of paper towel. It is cheap and easy to get but although these fabrics seem soft, they do have rough fibers that can make scratches. We’ve ones done this ourselves as young rookies which lead to scratched inner barrels that highly affected the trajectory of our shot BBs.
3. SHOULD I REMOVE THE BARREL FROM MY AIRSOFT GUN?
This can be an issue especially if you are new to the sport. As a matter of fact not every airsoft gun can be disassembled in the same way, which makes it an even bigger issue. You also need to have some tools in order to disassemble such a BB spitting machine. How is it done properly then? Find out by following the steps below.
PS. It is always handy to have an easily cleanable surface to work on. The Helikon-Tex® Rifle Cleaning Mat is a great example that provides a handy and easily adapted servicing area. It protects your airsoft gun against the elements as well as the surface on which it is placed.
THE PROCEDURE
1. WHAT YOU NEED:
a. TEFLON BASED OIL
Teflon based oils are great to clean an inner barrel because they don’t leave behind a sticky surface. They don’t dry out the hop-up bucking and they evaporate quickly.
CLEANING ROD
A cleaning rod usually comes in the box with your airsoft gun. If not ask your local retailer for one.
b. MICROFIBER CLOTH OR 100% COTTON T-SHIRT
A microfiber cloth (from your glasses for example) or an old 100% cotton T-shirt are ideal to be used as a cleaning cloth because they don’t have rough fibers and therefor don’t make any kind of scratches in a barrel. Cut them in small rectangular pieces to fold and handle them easily.
2. REMOVE TRACER OR SUPRESSOR UNIT
If you use one, take off any mock suppressor or tracer unit from your airsoft gun and make sure your magazine is taken out and that the chamber is empty.
3. DIAL HOP-UP UNIT DOWN
Fully dial off the hop-up to prevent damaging the hop-up system before attempting to clean.
4. CLEANING THE BARREL
Take a cloth, fold it in half and put it through the eyelid of the cleaning rod. Spray Teflon oil on the cloth and go through the barrel while gently twisting it around. Stop when you feel resistance from the hop-up bucking. Go back out of the barrel and also gently twist it around along the way.
5. REPEAT
If you see that your cleaning cloth is dirty, change it by a new one and repeat step 4. Do this until the cloth comes out clean.
6. WASH USED FABRICS
The used cloths can be reused several times after being washed. This saves you money.
7. DONE
Done, now you have a clean airsoft inner barrel that will hopefully make you shoot better than a Stormtrooper. Just don't forget to dial in your hop-up again before visiting your next game or training session.
