How to clean Paintballs?

[Irelandunfree]

Just got a case of balls shipped to me from actionvillage, opened up the box and of course the bags are filled with paint :mad: By the looks of it only acouple balls are broken so I want to salvage the rest, what is the best way to clean off the balls so they are fine to use? Thanks in advance guys!

[SAW]

Take the paint out of the bag and get an old towel. Place the paint on the towel, then just carefully rub off the splatter. It works. :)

[RRfireblade]

I heard, and don't blame if I'm COMPLETELY wrong....

But I had heard someone say they poured denatured alcohol over them to clean broken paint off which strips the splattered fill and it doesn't hurt the good ones.

THIS MAY BE COMPLETEY WRONG SO.................

[SAW]

I'll try tommorow...2 year old tourney paint has some uses. Right?

[RRfireblade]

Cool, don't blame me. :D

Get a screen or something , put them in it and pour over them into something.

Repeat w/ more....

Or

Cry cause it didn't work.

[magman007]

hmmm Fireblade, i would think that what would actually happen, would be the water from the balls, would actually seep through the shell through osmosis. Would be interesting to find out.

[RRfireblade]

Defintely possible.

Some one in the PB business I know mentioned that's what they 'thought' they used to do back in the day.May be another kind of 'stuff' used but I kinda remember it being that for some reason.

Could be totally wrong tho. If I had some paint here I'd see what happens....but I don't. :)

[ej_y4]

RRfireblade i wonder if that would work. I know half rubbing alcohol and half water mix works great to get paint out of my barrels. Just dont soak the balls in alcohol :rolleyes:

[RRfireblade]

Well if it works, you tell everybody I said it works.

If it don't.....Who what? Where'd you get that idea from....noob. :D

[rabidchihauhau]

a 'quick' bath in denatured alcohol, a quick run over some paper towel on a drying rack and re-bag; works fine, doesn't dry out the shell, cleans the balls (no stickiness, etc).

Its only advantageous to do this if you have a large amount to clean - otherwise the 'old towel and wipe' method is probably better.

[phelix]

well, the perfect way would be to find out the concentration of fill, then mix that exact concentration of alcohol, and use that to clean the balls, so there is no osmosis in and out of the balls.

[Irelandunfree]

Thanks for all the good ideas guys, im prob going to stick with the old towel method but after I try to get UPS to pay for it due to the condition of the box. Someone keep us updated if they try the alcohol trick. Thanks again :)

[RRfireblade]

I've been informed that it does work, just a quick dip and dry off. No ill effects and supposedly works very well.

[SAW]

Just tried it myself, performs as advertised!

[RRfireblade]

Just tried it myself, performs as advertised!

Cool. Send me a peice of candy. :D

[SAW]

I'll send the test samples. :)

[RRfireblade]

(now, just to go back and edit my first posts to say I knew it would work without a doubt......... :ninja: )

[PBkilla123]

Dont use any liquid just take like 5 and wrap them in a towel or napkin and rub them.

[mag88888]

are you joking?! 5 balls?! thatll take forever.

[Deathshadow9k]

Aye at work when we get in cases of paint we check every bag for leaks or breaks, if its just one leaker we usually leave it be but if theres quite a few or a broken ball we have a procedure to take care of it. Take an old flat cardboard soda case (the ones that hold 32 cans from costco) line the bottom with paper towels and pour in a bag of 500 or so, its easier if you pour about half the bag at a time but if your in a hurry just do the whole bag. Then take another paper towel fold it in quarters and use it to roll over the balls that are icky. After its all dried take the balls and if you wish squeeze them individually to find leakers (they will chop trust me even my lvl 10 doesn't like em much) and then just toss em into a ziploc freezer bag with and toss in a silica pack (like the ones that come in shoeboxes, not the ginormous ones) leave that in the bag while its sealed up for about an hour then take out the pack so it doesn't make your paint to brittle and your ready to rock.

[okiTony]

I heard if you want to find a leaky paintball before you start cleaning them, pour talcum powder in the bag, shake it up, pore the paintballs on a towel to clean and it is pretty easy to find the leaky paintball. Just remove the bad one and wipe.

Has anybody ever tried that? Or heard of it? I have never tried it, just heard people talking at the field.

[PaintballSmurf13]

just use a towel... that's how i get free paint to shoot sometimes...yay :clap:

[UTDragun]

how can you tell if the stuff in the bag is paint from a ball or "lube"

[rabidchihauhau]

talcum powder can leave residue that gums up your gun.

the fastest way to get rid of a broken ball/leaker is to 'pinch' off a portion of the bag that has that ball in it, cut off that portion of the bag and toss it.

telling 'oil' from paint is usually fairly easy, but its one of those things someone has to show you before you get it down pat.

First, oil spreads and beads, paint smears; you can determine this by rubbing the suspected stuff through the bag and watching how it reacts.

Second, oil is absorbed into the shell of the balls, paint, again, smears. rub it agains the paint and see what happens

Third, oil is transluscent and more often than not, a different color than the fill. Paint is usually opaque and the same color as the fill. Check the box for the fill color, if the stuff on the bag is not that color, I'd give odds that its oil.

[Link44]

i had the same thing happen to me, and if u haven't opened the paint bags yet, threaten action village that ur gonna cancle ur credit card payment and they will give u the boxes for free and then give u store credit for the amout u paid for them. i did it.

[rabidchihauhau]

HOW ABOUT calling the shipper FIRST and giving them an opportunity to work with you?