Most entry-level paintball players always want to know does paintball paint wash out. Paintball is a type of fun and adrenaline-driven sport.
It features teams of people in full camouflage or military-style battle gear throwing balls of paint at each other at close range.
When playing paintball, you will paint on your clothes and gear. Most paintball gear manufacturers recommend that players clean their gear if they want them to last long.
However, most players are doubtful about whether paintball paint can wash out from their gear. So, let’s find out,
Does Paintball Paint Wash Out?
Yes, you can easily and effectively remove paintball paint from your gears, car, trees, and more.
It is because paintball paint, unlike typical paint, consists of water-soluble dyes such as polyethylene glycol, etc. These water-soluble dyes are usually easy to remove if they don’t sit for too long.
What You’ll Need To Wash Out Paintball Stains
Firstly you need to collect the necessary laundry products for the job. The great part is that majority of paintballs are water soluble. So you can wash them off without much trouble.
However, if the stains aren’t budging, you’ll need stronger and more effective products. The first and best product you should look for when in this situation is a stain remover.
Select a product that’s ideal for tough stains. The product you choose should be able to tackle both organic and synthetic stains.
You’ll also need a stain eraser or sponge and color-safe bleach for stubborn stains. Ensure you have a color-safe detergent if you’re dealing with garments or fabric. Note that bleach isn’t very safe on bare hands. So you might need protection gear like rubber gloves.
How To Wash Paintball Clothes
Paintballs or paints are spherical gelatin capsules. They contain polyethylene glycol, dye, water-soluble, and other non-toxic substances.
Generally, paintballs consist of materials that are in food items. Therefore removing the paintball stains from your gear shouldn’t be that tricky.
You’ll have to soak the stained clothes for approximately 2 hours to dissolve the paint in water. After this, rinse the clothes in clean water to remove all paint. Now the clothes are ready to be washed normally using detergents.
Always wash clothes immediately after the game if you want to remove the stains effectively. You can also wash the paintball gear with other clothes, but you must pre-treat them first.
Pre-treating involves using the pre-treater laundry detergent that removes stains. Amazingly, the pre-treating process is easy; all you have to do is spray it on your clothes. After some hours, the paint will be gone.
Tips On How To Remove Paintball Paint From Different Paintball Gears
1. Shoes
Liquid detergent is the best product for removing paintball stains from shoes. Shoes, i.e., boots tend to have many crevices and cracks; therefore, you’ll need thorough scrubbing.
This way, you’ll get rid of all the paint. After washing your shoes, air dry them and inspect them afterward to ensure it has no paint. If it still has paint, you can repeat the entire process.
2. Gun and Barrel
It’s advisable to clean your best paintball gun after each game to ensure it stays in great condition. You’ll have to remove the entire marker to clean the paint from all parts and let it dry effectively.
If you chop a ball while playing, you’ll have to clean its internal parts properly. You can do this using a clean rag, and then ensure you re-lube the marker.
After cleaning the marker, you should clean the barrel using dish detergent and warm water. It’ll remove any residue or paint that remains. Ensure you’ve washed out all soap and run a squeegee through the barrel to dry it completely.
3. Single Pane Lens
The single pane lens is quite popular and consists of a “single” polycarbonate pane. To clean this, you’ll need a damp microfiber towel. Gently wipe the lens with this towel until it removes all the paint.
Avoid using toilet paper, paper towels, or other types of towels. It’s because they are more abrasive and will leave scratches on the lens.
After successfully removing all paint from the lens, gently wipe it and dry it with another microfiber towel. Apply polycarbonate safe cleaner on the lens and wipe it dry using the microfiber towel.
However, don’t use ammonia-based glass cleaner like Windex on your lens. They have strong chemicals that will quickly degrade the lens coating plus remove the anti-glare, anti-fog, and anti-scratch coating.
4. Dual Pane Lens
This lens type consists of two polycarbonate panes. A black foam strip separates the panes.
It’s the black strip that differentiates between single and dual-pane lenses.
You need to be more careful with the dual-pane lens when cleaning. It is because it is quite sensitive and thus much easier to ruin.
The lens will ruin if water gets between the lenses. It’s usually near impossible to get out the water that’s stuck between lenses. Therefore never clean your dual pane lens using water. You should use a damp microfiber towel.
You can also ruin the dual-pane lens by scratching the inside lens from the inside. The inner lens is usually thinner and easier to ruin.
Therefore you need to be extra careful when removing paint from the inside lens. You can use a damp microfiber and gently rub it on the paint. Anything more than a damp microfiber towel could cause water to get in between the two lenses.
Another way you can ruin a dual-pane lens is by scratching the thinner lens on the inside. The inner lens is thinner and easier to scratch than the outer lens. You need to be extra careful when attempting to remove a smudge or get paint off the inside of the lens.
If there’s paint on the inner lens, I recommend you gently dab a damp microfiber cloth onto the paint splatter to remove it and gently wipe the lens dry with a clean microfiber towel.
After this, gently dry the lens with a microfiber towel. If there’s paint on the front lens, use a dry or slightly damp microfiber towel. You should spray the lens with a polycarbonate-safe cleaner and wipe it off using a dry microfiber towel.
5. Loader and Pods
How to clean the paint hopper varies from model to model. You’ll need to take apart the shell if it’s an electric loader. From here, you’ll be able to wash it with warm water and soap properly.
If paintball paint gets in the internal parts, you’ll need to use an alcohol wipe or damp paper towel. But if it’s a non-electric paintball gun, it’s best to clean it from the sink with warm water and soap. After this, please leave it to air dry, or you can dry it using a water towel.
6. Paintball Mask
You can clean the paintball mask using a wet paper towel or hand cloth. But you should use a different microfiber towel to clean your lens.
This ensures that you don’t leave any scratches on it. Alternatively, you can detach the lens from the mask and thoroughly wash the mask using warm water. However, you shouldn’t entirely submerge or degrade the mask in the water.
Submerging the mask into water degrades the glue that attaches the foam to the mask over time. Sometimes, the paint can reach the mask’s crannies and nooks and might be tricky to remove. You’ll need a toothbrush or sponge to remove paint from these areas.
7. Pod Packs and Vests
You can remove paint from pod packs and vests by hand washing or spraying it down with a water hose. But some stubborn paints might remain in the crevices and tinny cracks; use a toothbrush to clean them.
You can also use spray stain remover on the stains that don’t come off easily. If the stains are extremely stubborn, put the pod packs or vests in hot water with Oxyclean for an hour or more.
Remove the pod pack and vest from the mixture, wash it, and spray it with water using a hose. Do this until you remove all the stains.
The last step is to let the vest and pod packs air out until it’s dry. Do not put your pod packs and vests in the dryer; it might destroy the seam and cause color fading. Air drying will keep them in great shape.
How To Deal With Paintball Stains
Designate Paintballing Clothes
If you love playing paintball, then your fabric will surely stain after some time. Therefore you need to have clothes for the paintball game exclusively. This way you won’t ruin your best clothes.
But other than paint, several other factors damage fabric. They include activities like diving, jumping, and running through bushes.
Use Dark-colored Clothing For Paintball
It’s surely easier to clean dark-colored clothes than bright ones. Stains are usually so clear on brightly colored clothes.
The black clothes will mask the stains a little. Plus, always ensure you clean your paintball gear immediately after paintballing.
Conclusion
Does this article answer the commonly asked question does paintball paint wash out? Now that you know it’s possible to wash the paint from your gear, you can play paintball without worries.
However, there are precautions that you should take while cleaning sensitive equipment, including masks.
Or else you’ll risk damaging them. You also need to be keen when washing regular paintball clothes. Follow the steps given in this article if you want to prolong your life.
