Airsoft gun maintenance *NEW ISSUE* Dead battery?

Casual

I recently bought an airsoft gun off a friend, only problem is the dude smokes like a chimney and the whole thing stinks of old cig smoke. It's pretty much entirely made out of metal except for a few plastic attachments so I'm not sure whats absorbed the smoke smell. Any ideas what I can do to get rid of the smell? Anything that involves a lot of water is out because there are electrical parts inside the gun.

Donovan Puppyfucker

You need to tear it apart COMPLETELY, and give everything a good scrub. Plastic is porous, so you'll probably need to replace those bits.

Maverikk

Metal is porous like human skin (it still smells because the smell is trapped in it). Heating it up before washing will give you maximum results; also, ideally, try to field-strip the gun if you can so you can treat the individual pieces.

Throw some WD40 (or equivalent lube-oil) on the pieces (or wholly) and scrub it down with a brush you feel safe using (wire brushes work nicely, but scratch up the metal). The lube-oil will keep the electrical components safe (still, make sure the oil doesn't conduct electricity before using, or just rip out the power source of the gun before doing the cleaning), and the pores will suck up the oil to keep the gun rust/scent free for a few months.

If everything else fails just repaint it. Covering up the pores will keep the gun from smelling.

Casual

Huh not sure how much luck I'll have field stripping it but I'll give it a shot. Is it safe to just spray WD40 over the surface? It's quite a large gun, an M4 if that makes a difference.

nescientist

Do not use wd40. Various plastic internals, including your hop up, react badly to it.

RedDawn

You could try keeping it in a tub/container with a box of baking soda. It may absorb some of the smell.

Forbe!

WD40 is great for breaking up rust, however, it is a drying oil, it will not lubricate moving parts for any extended period of time. Also, as a petroleum based product, it will degrade most plastics.

While yes, metal is porous, it will not readily absorb smell like a sponge would. More likely, the tiny surface imperfections have created something for the odor to grab onto. Depending on the type of metal it is, I would treat it just like a normal firearm. Remove the plastic bits and clean the metal parts with gun solvent.

Al_wat

I've heard toothpaste is really good for getting cigarette smell out.

I'm not sure how feasible cleaning your airsoft gun with it is - something to consider. Works great for your hands.

godmode

I would recommend legitimate gun-cleaning solvent. Disassemble it as far as is practical (check the owner's manual - there's a way), and give it a good scrubbing. Don't use WD40. Gun cleaner is not expensive and it'll clean better and protect, and is safe on both plastic parts and metal. Just make sure you wipe excess off the plastic. The smell should be gone once you're done.

Nappuccino

Forbe! wrote:

WD40 is great for breaking up rust, however, it is a drying oil, it will not lubricate moving parts for any extended period of time. Also, as a petroleum based product, it will degrade most plastics.

While yes, metal is porous, it will not readily absorb smell like a sponge would. More likely, the tiny surface imperfections have created something for the odor to grab onto. Depending on the type of metal it is, I would treat it just like a normal firearm. Remove the plastic bits and clean the metal parts with gun solvent.

I don't have much to add other than this guy knows his metal and I would rate his word quite highly

Casual

Gun solvent sounds great but I'm in the UK so gun related products aren't exactly readily available here. Is there any similar substance a regular person could buy?

WiseManTobes

Is Isopropanol alcohol available there? I use that to clean smoke resin off of basically everything, and it's the resin that holds mot of the smell, 70% or 99% will work.

Forbe!

WiseManTobes wrote:

Is Isopropanol alcohol available there? I use that to clean smoke resin off of basically everything, and it's the resin that holds mot of the smell, 70% or 99% will work.

Yeah, most alcohols, isopropanol, denatured, heck even thinners would probably do the trick as well.

Casual

Yeah I should be able to get a hold of that somewhere. So I just field strip the gun and apply the alcohol with a sponge? The plastic parts too?

Casual

OK, I bought a charger for the gun because my friend had lost his, it came today and I've been charging up the battery. I think the battery may be dead however, apparently this gun has been sitting in a wardrobe for 2-3 years. I've heard batteries can sometimes be coaxed back to life by repeatedly charging and draining the battery until it builds its capacity back up. Even if it is more effort I would rather do this, buying a new battery would cost more than I spent on the gun and what started out as a whim to see if I would like it or not is getting to be more expensive than I would like.

Movitz

Casual wrote:

OK, I bought a charger for the gun because my friend had lost his, it came today and I've been charging up the battery. I think the battery may be dead however, apparently this gun has been sitting in a wardrobe for 2-3 years. I've heard batteries can sometimes be coaxed back to life by repeatedly charging and draining the battery until it builds its capacity back up. Even if it is more effort I would rather do this, buying a new battery would cost more than I spent on the gun and what started out as a whim to see if I would like it or not is getting to be more expensive than I would like.

I wouldn't hope on it but you could always try?

Batteries starts slowly dying because the compounds in them are "spent". You get electricity by a chemical reaction which you can later on reverse with the charger. But no reaction is 100% complete and there will always be some spent and unreactive materials left in there. After a few hundred recharge cycles you're stuck at the equilibrium point and the battery is permanently dead. If you manage to kick it back to life if won't be a very long and happy life. ;-)

ed: Unfortunately I cannot for the life of me explain that better, because I suck.

Casual

well the battery has never been used much per se its just been left unused for years. I think it's working though, the battery is slowly improving each time I charge and empty it.

Ruckus

If you can get your hands on a digital multimeter, read the DC voltage, then tell us what the rated voltage is and what the read was. If the voltage is too low after a significant charge period, that battery is done and won't hold a charge anymore.