Chris Schneck

There can actually be several varieties of o-rings made of different substances in your paintball marker, each with its own chemical composition and functional purpose. Most all o-rings in your paintball marker will be made with polyurethane and depending on their function in the paintball marker will contain varying levels of Nitriles.

Polyurethane o-rings will range in colour from a translucent white to a yellow.

Nitrile o-rings are softer and commonly black in colour.

The o-rings that are in the moving parts of your paintball marker ( hammers, bolts & tank o-rings ) are a harder polyurethane. They need to stand up to the constant abrasion of movement, no matter how smooth you think the interior of your marker is there’s always an infinitesimal measurement of friction.

You might also see o-rings noted with a D, as in 70D. The D notes the Shore Durometer rating, which is typically used as a measure of hardness in polymers, elastomers and rubbers. There are several scales of durometer, used for materials with different properties. The two most common scales, using slightly different measurement systems, are the A and D scales. The A scale is for softer plastics, while the D scale is for harder ones.

Unfortunately you cannot simply replace any o-ring in your paintball marker with another o-ring that just happens to be the same diameter. The thickness and composition of the o-ring is essential to the pantball markers functionality. Having one or two complete sets of replacement o-rings specifically designed for your paintball marker on hand is the only way to be safe.

So which lubricants can I use in my paintball marker?

Only use lubricants that are non petroleum based!

Do Use :

1. Silicone Grease
2. Lithium Grease
3. Oil bought from your local paintball store
4. Air Tool Oil ( if you’re in a pinch )

Do NOT Use :

1. WD-40
2. Motor oil
3. Petroleum based grease
4. Anything you would use on a vehicle

Tags: Brass, Buna Nitrile, cup seal, Delrin, Lexan, Nitrile, Nylon, o-ring, oring, Polycarbonate, PolyTetraFluoroEthylene, Polyurethane, PTFE, Shore Durometer, Silicone, Urethane

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm and is filed under Info, Paintball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.