Fixing up an old 68 Classic

[factoid]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. I haven't played paintball regularly in several years, but I still have a bunch of good equipment sitting around the house and I'd like to put it to use.

I'm wondering if I can get some advice on what I should do to get my gear game-ready after a long absence.

I've got a 68 automag classic purchased around 1999-2000. It has probably less than a dozen cases of paint through it. I bought it at the height of my playing and then got busy with school and work and everything else.

I have a NitroDuck HPA system that I'm positive is long past its inspection date. The tank itself is in perfect condition but I'm not sure whether a carbon fiber tank has issues with being stored depressurized like a steel or aluminum tank would. I am not sure if it's 100% depressurized or not. Same deal with the scuba tank I used for fills. I'm sure it needs a visual inspection and it's possible it might need outright replacement. Nobody taught me back then that a tank was better kept pressurized to keep moisture out.


But aside from getting the tanks inspected and re-certified is there anything I should consider doing to my marker? I know the 68 classic is no longer in production these days. Will I have a hard time finding parts?

If I were to consider any upgrades what gives me the best bang for my buck? I can't honestly say I've kept up with the automag world, so I have no idea what parts for newer guns are backwards compatible with my classic. Can I still buy new barrels for it? Body accessories? Double trigger upgrade, etc?

If you had a lightly used, mostly stock 68 Classic in your basement what would you do with it? I'm not planning on becoming super competitive overnight, but I know the industry has changed and my equipment is old so I'd like to at least stand a fighting chance on the field.

[Ando]

You'll be more then fine with your classic. It's not the gun but the player behind it, I'm sure you know that. I was running around with a pump mag this passed weekend. Everyone else had rental piranhas, electro spiders, a few egos, a DM or 3. Even my 2 nephews that went with me had some tricked out x7 phenom. It was good times. Had alot of fun. I even got to shot an ego for the first time One of the guys swamped out with me for a few games. He might be coming on here to get himself a pump mag the way he was talking

[factoid]

The one thing I was never happy with on my Mag was the accuracy. I've got a 12 inch PMI Perfect ceramic barrel. At least I think it's 12. Might be 11.

I break balls way more often than I feel like I should be. Someone told me that the whole point of a ceramic barrel is that you can dry fire the gun and get most of the paint out, which has never once worked for me. My accuracy is terrible until I squeegee the barrel and even then I usually need to run it through some soapy water and clean it well before it returns to peak form.

When balls don't break I find the accuracy to usually be acceptable, but not fantastic.

I know that I can get my marker back in good working order with just a bit of oil and probably some new O-rings, but I'm wondering what my options are for improving it. I'm not heavy back into the sport yet so I don't want to drop a ton of money, but if there's some improvements available for a classic I'd love to hear them...I just have no idea what upgrades are even compatible with a 10+ year old mag.

[Ando]

Probably the 2 best thing you can upgrade on a classic are the bolt and switching to compressed air.

Lvl 10 bolt is hands down the best upgrade period. It will alleviate your ball breakage problem.

Once you get back into the swing of things. Upgrading to a RT valve should be your next buy.

Best thing about a mag is EVERY component is interchangeable (Not including the Classic RT).

[questionful]

Sounds like you're not happy with your barrel. I don't play paintball, so I have no experience based wisdom, but I recommend you check the fit of the paint in your barrel. Like this vid I remember watching years ago:

http://webdog.specialopspaintball.com/video/tipclip/WDR11.wmv

So if the paint is not too loose and not too tight that should be best.

There's also cockerpunk's videos for accuracy research:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PunkWorksPaintball

classic mags are solid guns. they are durable, and if properly maintained, fire when you pull the trigger. what more do you want? if you want more BPS and a cool project, you could make a pneumatic frame, just search "pneumag" and you should find plenty of info. If you want lower weight, consider milling out your rail (cheap) or getting a ULE (aluminum and cocker threaded) body (expensive). Maybe a good foregrip is the only other thing I can suggest.

[athomas]

Clean the mag and inspect the orings. If any are hard or deformed, replace them. Change the bolt spring and the regulator seat oring regardless.

Don't put oil or grease on your bolt spring or on the outside of the bolt. It will cause inaccuracy due to oil transfer to the ball and then barrel.

When picking a barrel to use, try to size so that the ball barely touches on just two points opposite each other on the ball. When in doubt, overbore for overall consistency. Overboring will allow a wider variety of paint to be used without barrel breaks. The only side effect of overboring is a loss of air efficiency.

As mentioned, the level 10 is probably the best upgrade you can get for any may after compressed air. If you get the level 10 bolt for an older mag, you will also need to change the lower pressure regulator piston assembly to a new higher pressure piston assembly. An X-valve(aluminum retro valve) would be a nice upgrade because it comes stock with the level 10 bolt and higher pressure regulator piston assembly. The beauty of the X-valve is its ability to prevent short stroking because of its super fast recharge rate.

[MFM-70]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. I haven't played paintball regularly in several years, but I still have a bunch of good equipment sitting around the house and I'd like to put it to use.

I'm wondering if I can get some advice on what I should do to get my gear game-ready after a long absence.

I've got a 68 automag classic purchased around 1999-2000. It has probably less than a dozen cases of paint through it. I bought it at the height of my playing and then got busy with school and work and everything else.

I have a NitroDuck HPA system that I'm positive is long past its inspection date. The tank itself is in perfect condition but I'm not sure whether a carbon fiber tank has issues with being stored depressurized like a steel or aluminum tank would. I am not sure if it's 100% depressurized or not. Same deal with the scuba tank I used for fills. I'm sure it needs a visual inspection and it's possible it might need outright replacement. Nobody taught me back then that a tank was better kept pressurized to keep moisture out.


But aside from getting the tanks inspected and re-certified is there anything I should consider doing to my marker? I know the 68 classic is no longer in production these days. Will I have a hard time finding parts?

If I were to consider any upgrades what gives me the best bang for my buck? I can't honestly say I've kept up with the automag world, so I have no idea what parts for newer guns are backwards compatible with my classic. Can I still buy new barrels for it? Body accessories? Double trigger upgrade, etc?

If you had a lightly used, mostly stock 68 Classic in your basement what would you do with it? I'm not planning on becoming super competitive overnight, but I know the industry has changed and my equipment is old so I'd like to at least stand a fighting chance on the field.

Best place for parts (stock) is here.
The $6 shipping is about 3-4 days.

http://store.airgundesignsusa.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog

The website is not the smoothest thing in the world.
Be sure you are buying "Classic 68 Automag" stuff.
Regards,

[factoid]

If you get the level 10 bolt for an older mag, you will also need to change the lower pressure regulator piston assembly to a new higher pressure piston assembly. An X-valve(aluminum retro valve) would be a nice upgrade because it comes stock with the level 10 bolt and higher pressure regulator piston assembly. The beauty of the X-valve is its ability to prevent short stroking because of its super fast recharge rate.

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate it.

When you say I need to replace the piston assembly, what exactly do you mean? Do those parts come with the level 10 kit, or is that a special part I should be looking for? I used to know my way around the inside of a Mag really well, but I'm struggling to remember which piece the piston assembly is. Is that the small stem seated into a spring that you find when you twist off the back of the regulator? If I did an X-Valve replacement wouldn't the Level10 bolt come with it? That's basically a full replacement of the marker except for the frame and trigger right? I'm interested in a level10 bolt, but I haven't seen anyone else mention replacing a piston, but then most of them were probably putting them on newer models than mine.


I'm planning on doing a full O-Ring replacement. I believe the o-ring kit also includes a replacement bolt spring. Thanks for the tip about not oiling or greasing it. That might be part of my accuracy problem...I think I always lubed that spring up in the past. I may have been contributing to some oil buildup.

I have a small tube of gun oil that I've always used on the Mag. Is that stuff OK, or is there any particular reason I should switch to the official AutoLube stuff?

[Ando]

Unscrew the velocity nut, pull the spring pack out and you'll see a brass piston inside. That's what he's talking about. Most of the time you have to change it but not all the time. Just get one anyways. Always good to have a spare.

[factoid]

Unscrew the velocity nut, pull the spring pack out and you'll see a brass piston inside. That's what he's talking about. Most of the time you have to change it but not all the time. Just get one anyways. Always good to have a spare.

Is this the part you're talking about? I assume it doesn't come standard with the Level 10 kit because only classic mags need it?

http://store.airgundesignsusa.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=30&categoryID=18

So if I buy the Level 10 kit, this piston assembly and a new set of O-Rings that's about all I should need to get back in the game?

I will probably just start with O-Rings for now, but I'm definitely interested in reducing chop. I've got a call in to the local dive shop to get my tanks inspected, then I'm back on the field, hopefully in the next couple weeks.

[tosburn3]

Is this the part you're talking about? I assume it doesn't come standard with the Level 10 kit because only classic mags need it?

http://store.airgundesignsusa.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=30&categoryID=18

So if I buy the Level 10 kit, this piston assembly and a new set of O-Rings that's about all I should need to get back in the game?

I will probably just start with O-Rings for now, but I'm definitely interested in reducing chop. I've got a call in to the local dive shop to get my tanks inspected, then I'm back on the field, hopefully in the next couple weeks.

That is the one for the level 10. If you use a Revy (and always remember to turn it on before you shoot) chops shouldn't be a problem.

I used a revy on my classic and it practically never chopped. However, it chopped pretty much every time I forgot to turn on the Revy... A gravity loader wont do well even if you have the level 10 because you will have to shake the hopper periodically to get the balls to feed.

My advice is to just get a revy and don't worry about the bolt. Level 10's are nice, but unless you are firing at a high rate it is not worth the price.

[factoid]

That is the one for the level 10. If you use a Revy (and always remember to turn it on before you shoot) chops shouldn't be a problem.

I used a revy on my classic and it practically never chopped. However, it chopped pretty much every time I forgot to turn on the Revy... A gravity loader wont do well even if you have the level 10 because you will have to shake the hopper periodically to get the balls to feed.

My advice is to just get a revy and don't worry about the bolt. Level 10's are nice, but unless you are firing at a high rate it is not worth the price.

Yeah my first set of purchases will be: VL Rev, Elbow joint, o-ring kit, barrel o-rings, new visor for my JT mask (the old one got stored wrong and now it's all bent up). I figure about 40 bucks will get me back in the game, not including the 50 bucks to get my tanks Hydro tested and inspected.

Is that piston only for use with a Level 10 though? I found one comment that made it seem as though it would be good for anyone with a compressed air rig as well.

I need to do some hunting... I find that I'm missing a bunch of my gear. I used to have a great lightweight jacket, camo pants, amber thermal lenses and a terrific set of allen wrenches and dental picks that were awesome for cleaning parts and working with O-Rings, but I can't find any of it.

[Spider-TW]

I break balls way more often than I feel like I should be.

My first mag suffered from the bad feed plug syndrome (affects power feeds only). It had the flat back feed plug that preceded both of these.



The new one made a big difference in chops.

[factoid]

My first mag suffered from the bad feed plug syndrome (affects power feeds only). It had the flat back feed plug that preceded both of these.



The new one made a big difference in chops.

Good tip, thanks! Is that something that could be fixed with a bit of sandpaper or am I better off just buying a new plug if mine has a flat spot?

If I remember my terminology correctly the powerfeed model is the one that intersects at a 45 degree angle, and the one that goes straight down into the barrel is a vertical feed, right? Mine is the angled one.

[sniper15]

ya, you're correct. powerfeeds go across the top of the gun, vert feed is also known as center feed, then theres left and right feed.