Returning After Long Break - Essential Maintenance?

[Kha0s]

Hi - I'm looking to get back into airsoft after a ~10 year hiatus and have a few AEGs, some gas pistols and a spring bolt action that have sat in storage this entire time. Is it safe to assume all of my RIFs will require a bit of work before they are ready to field? I'm thinking at a minimum the seals on all of the GBB mags will have perished and there's a good chance most of the batteries are dead? Are hop rubbers also likely to be bust?Will all of the gearboxes need re-greased too? Anything else I should be considering? Cheers!

 

[Emergencychimps]

Honestly?! 

Id just buy a basic specna arms type aeg. 

There has been a massive improvement in the quality of kit available in 10 years.

Now, you could regrease everything, swap hop rubbers over and buy new batteries, and it'd cost less but the aim of the game is to have fun. If you dropped out previously it's because you didn't find it fun enough and I'd advise to do the thing that's most fun. 

Ruining a couple of games days as you do some maintenance and realize it needs more of this or that isn't worth the savings you'll make or the feeling you're being out performed. This route might cost you the love of the hobby. 

Personally if I was determined to fix up what I had, new hop rubbers, new 7.4 lipo batteries and a barrel clean. If opening the gearbox and greasing is needed.....well then id just buy a new one. 

 

[Kha0s]

Honestly?! 

Id just buy a basic specna arms type aeg. 

There has been a massive improvement in the quality of kit available in 10 years.

Now, you could regrease everything, swap hop rubbers over and buy new batteries, and it'd cost less but the aim of the game is to have fun. If you dropped out previously it's because you didn't find it fun enough and I'd advise to do the thing that's most fun. 

Ruining a couple of games days as you do some maintenance and realize it needs more of this or that isn't worth the savings you'll make or the feeling you're being out performed. This route might cost you the love of the hobby. 

Personally if I was determined to fix up what I had, new hop rubbers, new 7.4 lipo batteries and a barrel clean. If opening the gearbox and greasing is needed.....well then id just buy a new one. 

Thanks for the feedback! That thought of buying new had crossed my mind, but part of the reason I was wanting to get everything in working order was so that I could sell at least a couple of the guns off. I'll need to dig everything out and do a full inventory but I had definitely gone a bit overboard with purchases before I stopped playing. I'll plan for new hop rubbers and a barrel clean for each as a minimum and take it from there. Regarding GBB mags, do you reckon soaking the seals in silicone oil or similar would be enough to revive them, or will they likely need replaced entirely? I'd like to think I had everything filled with maintenance gas, but I'm not sure I did.

 

[Lozart]

Hi - I'm looking to get back into airsoft after a ~10 year hiatus and have a few AEGs, some gas pistols and a spring bolt action that have sat in storage this entire time. Is it safe to assume all of my RIFs will require a bit of work before they are ready to field? I'm thinking at a minimum the seals on all of the GBB mags will have perished and there's a good chance most of the batteries are dead? Are hop rubbers also likely to be bust?Will all of the gearboxes need re-greased too? Anything else I should be considering? Cheers!

Anything rubber will probably have dried out so yes, as you suspect it's going to be new hop rubber, gas seals etc at a minimum.

Depending on what sort of lube and level of maintenance you were at when the guns went into storage then I'd certainly consider a good overall service.

Batteries - absolutely. Get some new ones. If you have Nimh type ones then they've been roundly replaced by LiPo (go for 7.4v ones though). If you already had LiPo be grateful they haven't already burnt your house down and get rid!

Regarding GBB mags, do you reckon soaking the seals in silicone oil or similar would be enough to revive them, or will they likely need replaced entirely? I'd like to think I had everything filled with maintenance gas, but I'm not sure I did.

New seals are cheap, just change them over and then you can sell as "refurbished" rather than "serviced but might still leak like a sieve".

 

[Kha0s]

Anything rubber will probably have dried out so yes, as you suspect it's going to be new hop rubber, gas seals etc at a minimum.

Depending on what sort of lube and level of maintenance you were at when the guns went into storage then I'd certainly consider a good overall service.

Batteries - absolutely. Get some new ones. If you have Nimh type ones then they've been roundly replaced by LiPo (go for 7.4v ones though). If you already had LiPo be grateful they haven't already burnt your house down and get rid!

New seals are cheap, just change them over and then you can sell as "refurbished" rather than "serviced but might still leak like a sieve".

I was running Nimh batteries in all of my guns before I stepped away, but had bought an internal conversion kit and corresponding LiPo for my KAC PDW. I didn't have a balance charger at the time so never got round to using it, but it will be sat in one of the storage boxes. I'll follow your advice and get rid of it ASAP! Fair point on the seals, not really worth the hassle when I could just replace with new. Once I've done a full inventory, I'll get an order in for new hop buckings and any orings I'll need for the mags.

 

[Lozart]

Pete at @ak2m4 is my recommendation for parts supply. https://www.ak2m4.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

He's a regular here and is always happy to help and advise!

 

[Kha0s]

Pete at @ak2m4 is my recommendation for parts supply. https://www.ak2m4.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

He's a regular here and is always happy to help and advise!

I've discovered a lot of the retailers I used to use no longer exist, so this is a big help! Cheers

 

[pyromancer6]

Can second Pete and AK2M4 - lovely fella and he offers a great service + he's always trying new stuff and experimenting with stuff before they're sold on the site instead of just throwing stuff on there like most other retailers do

 

[ak2m4]

@Kha0s should be super easy to get your existing aeg's in order - just a re-grease, some new orings and a new hop rubber.  Maybe a new spring - dead easy ?  If you get stuck plenty of video's and help on here

 

[Kha0s]

@Kha0s should be super easy to get your existing aeg's in order - just a re-grease, some new orings and a new hop rubber.  Maybe a new spring - dead easy ?  If you get stuck plenty of video's and help on here

Thanks! In terms of figuring out if I need any new springs, would a quick chrono be the easiest way to check? I have one in a storage box somewhere. And am I right in thinking in thinking a re-grease means opening up all of the gear boxes? I haven't went through everything yet but think there are 5 AEGs in there from memory and I remember some of them being tricky to work on (King Arms Fal v1 in particular).

 

[Lozart]

Thanks! In terms of figuring out if I need any new springs, would a quick chrono be the easiest way to check? I have one in a storage box somewhere. And am I right in thinking in thinking a re-grease means opening up all of the gear boxes? I haven't went through everything yet but think there are 5 AEGs in there from memory and I remember some of them being tricky to work on (King Arms Fal v1 in particular).

Chrono - yes

Re-grease - yes you will need to open the gearbox up. Also worth getting a can of engine degreaser from Halfords and some fresh grease (I'm a fan of Abbey Gun Grease LT2 for gears and Abbey Silicon grease for plastic/rubber parts - all on Amazon)

As for the tricky ones to work on, go slow, take LOTS of pictures during disassembly and as always - ask questions. Someone here is almost guaranteed to have done a gun like yours at some point!

 

[Kha0s]

Chrono - yes

Re-grease - yes you will need to open the gearbox up. Also worth getting a can of engine degreaser from Halfords and some fresh grease (I'm a fan of Abbey Gun Grease LT2 for gears and Abbey Silicon grease for plastic/rubber parts - all on Amazon)

As for the tricky ones to work on, go slow, take LOTS of pictures during disassembly and as always - ask questions. Someone here is almost guaranteed to have done a gun like yours at some point!

I thought that might be the case, but the lazy part of me was hoping to avoid it haha! I went to get the guns out of storage last night but they're tucked in behind a load of stuff so will need to revisit over the weekend. In the meantime, I'll get some engine de-greaser and the grease you mentioned - really appreciate all the tips! In terms of rubber parts in your average AEG, would that just be the hop rubber, and o-rings on the cylinder and possibly nozzle? And then for GBB Pistols the same, plus o-rings on the fill valves? I'm just trying to come up with a bit of a checklist of all the supplies I'm likely to need. It's a long time since I've done any weapon teching so my memory is a little hazy!

 

[Lozart]

I thought that might be the case, but the lazy part of me was hoping to avoid it haha! I went to get the guns out of storage last night but they're tucked in behind a load of stuff so will need to revisit over the weekend. In the meantime, I'll get some engine de-greaser and the grease you mentioned - really appreciate all the tips! In terms of rubber parts in your average AEG, would that just be the hop rubber, and o-rings on the cylinder and possibly nozzle? And then for GBB Pistols the same, plus o-rings on the fill valves? I'm just trying to come up with a bit of a checklist of all the supplies I'm likely to need. It's a long time since I've done any weapon teching so my memory is a little hazy!

Prepare thyself for the infinite rabbit hole of "fucking about with airsoft guns"!

Rubber parts, yes hop rubber and O-rings. If your AEG doesn't have an O-ring nozzle it may be worth getting a new nozzle that does (make sure you measure it first and get the right length). Again, all parts that @ak2m4 can help you out with.

If the old grease is particularly heavy handed it may be worth getting some new shims and reshimming the gears once you clean it out. Check the bore of the cylinder for any scratching/gouges, make sure the piston head is still secure and that any pad on the inside of the cylinder head isn't loose/worn/damaged.

GBB is likely to be O-rings on the bottom of the mag too. Put some gas in it and submerge it to see if and where it leaks. No point changing fill valves if they're OK. Depending on the pistol you may be able to get a specific service kit for the mags (more expensive than just getting a bunch of O-rings but more likely to have the right ones).

Again, take pictures and post them up in the tech threads here if you're unsure!

 

[Kha0s]

Prepare thyself for the infinite rabbit hole of "fucking about with airsoft guns"!

Rubber parts, yes hop rubber and O-rings. If your AEG doesn't have an O-ring nozzle it may be worth getting a new nozzle that does (make sure you measure it first and get the right length). Again, all parts that @ak2m4 can help you out with.

If the old grease is particularly heavy handed it may be worth getting some new shims and reshimming the gears once you clean it out. Check the bore of the cylinder for any scratching/gouges, make sure the piston head is still secure and that any pad on the inside of the cylinder head isn't loose/worn/damaged.

GBB is likely to be O-rings on the bottom of the mag too. Put some gas in it and submerge it to see if and where it leaks. No point changing fill valves if they're OK. Depending on the pistol you may be able to get a specific service kit for the mags (more expensive than just getting a bunch of O-rings but more likely to have the right ones).

Again, take pictures and post them up in the tech threads here if you're unsure!

I'm filled with equal parts dread and excitement at the task ahead of me ha! I'm fairly sure I've got a load of shims in one of the boxes so will check first and order some if not. Thanks again for all your feedback - I've got a bit of a checklist to follow now, so that gives me a bit more confidence. Much appreciated!