AEG servicing/care?

[AngelGrinder]

Hi all,

Still fairly new to the hobby, had a few skirmishes now and starting to understand everything a bit more! I own an APS AEG, and a WE Pistol, the blowback pistol I am keeping well cleaned an oiled between each service, but for the AEG, other than giving it a wipe down to get rid of the mud, is there anything that should be done regularly or every few months to keep it well looked after?

I'm happy to work out how to take things apart, not too keen to open the gearbox though! Doesn't seem a widespread gun, so not a huge amount of information out there or guides etc.

What do you guys do between games? Anything important to keep an eye on?

Thanks.

 

[proffrink]

Can't comment on everything else, but the barrel for me is the big one usually and I clean them before and after every game if I'm in woodland. If it's CQB then you're usually fine leaving them longer.

Clean with paper towel doused in isopropyl alcohol on the end of your cleaning rod. Then swab with more squares of paper towel until you're getting no more dirt being picked up by the towel. You can clean as far as the bucking, but do that towards the end so you're not pushing dirt onto it from the rest of the barrel (best practice for this is to mark out your cleaning rod so you know exactly how far it needs to be in the barrel so as to not touch the bucking).

Leave it to try for 30 seconds then a squirt of low viscosity silicone on another square of paper towel and swab the barrel with it up to just short of the bucking (do not getting silicone near your hop unit or you'll warp the bucking). This stops BB fragments from sticking to the inside of your barrel as easily and thus prolongs the life of it as well as making much of the crap blow out of the barrel on your next shot given the low friction inside there.

You can find isopropyl alcohol on eBay for about £7-9 per litre (which will last you probably a couple of years if you're just cleaning with it). It's also really useful for cleaning anything else airsoft related and removes grease and crap really well. Just don't use it on paint.

 

[Sitting Duck]

empty mags before storing them - or springs can weaken and feed crap

clean barrel if and when you think its shooting less accurate - not every 5 mins

alcho-wipes are easier to keep in ya gun bag for a few quid per 100

slicone - with caution and very very little needed - maybe not for guns running a bit warm as it really reduces any drag

keep well away from bucking using it say 75to 85% of barrel length only imho

buff with dry soft tissue - this also works $hit hot on cylinders too - smooth & slippery like polished ice with oil on top

I stopped taking mine to bed as wife was getting fed up

so now bought her a bed of her own - the RIF, wife refuses to budge

 

[jcheeseright]

Clean the barrel every few months unless you've gotten particularly dirty, other than that just let it run til something breaks.

For barrel cleaning I tend to go the whole hog and remove it entirely from the hop unit and give it a thorough going over with isopropyl alcohol wipes, I don't clean my barrel very often though, even once every 2-3 months I don't tend to get much gunk come out.

 

[proffrink]

Gotta silicone. I'm a converted man: http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/28054-cleaning-with-isopropyl-alcohol-vs-silicone/