Paintball

[CJOttawa]

There have been a lot of threads on this but this will be the collector thread.
The advice here could reasonably be applied to other Nelson-based markers as well such as Nelspots, Carters, Reduxes etc.

Approaches include:

• shimming the pump rod
• polishing the pump rod
• polishing the internals (bolt, hammer, powertube, TPC)
• selecting a gloss finish instead of dust (dust finishes tend to have more friction against the pump handle; does NOT affect the internals which are left polished by CCI!)
• cutting down or removing the return spring
• properly lubricating your gun!

Supplies I recommend you pick up:

• blue shop towels (more durable than paper towel but the latter will do if you don't mind going through a lot of it)
• "Flitz" metal polish (alternatively: "Met-All" polish in a steel can; other brands may work too)
• 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
• 1,000 grit wet/dry sandpaper
• 1,500 grit wet/dry sandpaper
• synthetic air tool oil

The point of this exercise is to carefully smooth out the surfaces of parts that contact each other.

1,000 and 1,500 grit wet sandpaper is usually found with automotive paints and is used to buff out clear coat imperfections.

It won't remove pitting or change the dimensions of parts enough to matter for our purposes. Stick with 1,500 grit unless there's a reason to use the 1,000.

Pump Handle
I approach the 600 grit carefully and for one purpose only: putting a bevel on the front and back of the pump handle where the barrel enters and exits. I then smooth out the whole inside of the handle where it contacts the barrel using 1,000 grit, followed by 1,500 then the metal polish, which contains micro-abrasives and hydrocarbons. Wipe it down carefully or wash with soap and water, so as not to leave any of the paste on the handle that could break it down.

Pump Rod
The pump rod is already quite smooth from the factory so I only hit it with 1,500 grit, wet, to take out some of the surface imperfections.

After that, I use Flitz with bare fingers until the paste turns black, at which point I buff it out with a small section of shop towel, about 2x2 inches, so the paste can load up the towel instead of being wiped away.

When done, polish and wipe clean with a fresh piece of towel.

Pump Rod Shimming
This is clever mod by Woodsballer57 who posted extensive details in his review of the DesertT1 undercocking kit. Here is a link to his thread:
My Review of the DT1 Undercocking Kit...A Winner!

The "TL;DR" (too long; didn't read) version is this:

• the Phantom pump rod isn't fixed to the bolt but floats
• this allows vertical play in the pump rod which can be perceived as "slop"
• brass tubing can be used to shim the pump rod to eliminate slop
• options are 5/16" brass compression fitting inserts available in the plumbing section or K&S Engineering brass tubing, 7/32 x 0.14", available at most hobby stores

Photos of the shims are copied below.





Polishing Internals
CCI Phantom internals are very good from the factory so you won't have to do much.

Do NOT take abrasives to the inside of the Phantom body!
They are already polished from the factory, even with "dust" finish parts; you'll only be removing anodizing which is never a good idea.

For parts like the bolt, hammer, powertube and TPC, start with 1,000 grit wet and move to 1,500 grit before applying polishing paste. Some folks don't even use the sandpaper, favoring the polishing paste.

The end result is a near mirror finish.

The full thread discussing polishing internals is here:
Polishing internals...

IronExpress' results:


Be VERY careful with the 1,000 grit as it can remove more material than you want in a hurry. You could skip it and go to 1,500 grit from the get go, if you're patient.

Return Spring
Uncocked, the pressure from the hammer spring will keep the bolt from sliding back and opening the breech.

The return spring does two things.

1. pushes the bolt forward when the pump handle is released, closing the breech
2. keeps the bolt held forward while the gun is cocked

The bolt o-ring helps to seal the bolt against the breech, however, without a return spring, a sharp jolt can re-open the breech leading to double feeds, un-loading or broken paint.

Short of removing the return spring altogether, two options are:

1. order a "half rate" return spring from CCI (thinner wire material)
2. cut 3-4 loops off the return spring

DON'T cut more than 3-4 loops from the stock spring.
You can NOT tell if you've gone to far with an UNCOCKED gun.
With the gun cocked, the return spring should still be under tension with the pump handle forward. If you remove too many loops, there won't be enough tension to keep the bolt forward and the breech closed.

Nelspot 007 Improvements
The single biggest improvement you can make to Nelspot internals: replace them with modern Phantom internals.

Stilgar can corroborate this. I cleaned, honed and polished the original internals of his Nelspot and we just couldn't get it to pump smoothly. We dropped Phantom internals in and it was like pumping any Phantom.

The standard Phantom bolt is tapped for the nylon grub screw with exactly the same threading as the Nelspot pump arm. To keep the bolt in place, modify it similar to ASP's TPC o-ring mod. Speaking of which...

ASP TPC o-ring mod
This doesn't technically smooth out the Phantom but it will keep you from pulling your hair out trying to get the TPC grub screw to work.

Here's a photo of ASP's modified TPC.



Disregard the broaching at the front; it's the groove in the middle of the threads you want to duplicate. Chuck the TPC up in a lathe, drill press or even a drill in a vice and carefully use a thin warding file to cut the groove. An o-ring in that will negate the need for the nylon grub screw and make velocity adjustments much more smooth and stable.

Proper Lubrication

• Do NOT dump oil into the ASA and fire the gun (all this does is get the oil into the valve, powertube, TPC and barrel, which you will probably have to clean out because it will cause paint to fly erratically)
• DO oil the hammer lightly - one drop around the whole hammer is all it takes; it's the most critical moving part (it moves during the cocking cycle and again, quickly, when firing)
• DO oil either the outside of the powertube or the inside of the hammer
• DO open the gun and clean the internals before oiling (pssst - the field strip screws make this easy)
• DON'T oil the bolt - the bolt travel overlaps the hammer and will pick up enough oil from that (excess oil will contaminate the breech and paintballs leading to erratic flight; if you feel you must, just dab a bit on your finger tips and wipe the bolt lightly)
• DO lightly oil the bolt o-ring (it tends to catch if dry, quite noticeably causing added friction at the beginning and end of the pump stroke)

Post Up!
That's it! All of the above takes a whopping hour or two relaxing in front of the TV with the parts and materials on a TV tray. Give it a shot, go slow and post up your experience.

[808Jackal]

Flitz is magic! When polishing my teams phantom bolts we didn't use sandpaper at all. Just put the bolt TPC pipe end into a power drill, locked it down with light pressure, dabbed a bit of Flitz and let that baby spin!

I used a clean rag at first with the Flitz and after some time the rag and my hands turned nice and black. Switched to a cleaner area, more spinning and got most of the black gunk off.

Finished it off with a simple metal polishing cloth that had no additives. Even when polishing I spun the bolt on the power drill which cut down the amount of elbow grease needed.

For the hammer we used a dremel and the polishing tip with a tiny dab of Flitz. I must warn you, even on low settings that stuff will get sprayed around by the force of the dremel. Unlike the powertool you have to hold that hammer in your hand and it will get hot! Be warned.

Anyway that is the way we did our bolts and hammers. I stayed away from my TPC and Powertubes though. I got near mirror finishes as well. Hope my 2 cents helped too.

[worrptangl]

McDermott McMagic - Micro Burnishing Papers - Pool Cue Shaft Care and Tools

I use these before polishing anything and they do wonders with delrin so you don't have to polish it.

[Stilgar]

Originally Posted by CJOttawa

Nelspot 007 Improvements
The single biggest improvement you can make to Nelspot internals: replace them with modern Phantom internals.

Stilgar can corroborate this. I cleaned, honed and polished the original internals of his Nelspot and we just couldn't get it to pump smoothly. We dropped Phantom internals in and it was like pumping any Phantom.

The standard Phantom bolt is tapped for the nylon grub screw with exactly the same threading as the Nelspot pump arm. To keep the bolt in place, modify it similar to ASP's TPC o-ring mod. Speaking of which...

ASP TPC o-ring mod
This doesn't technically smooth out the Phantom but it will keep you from pulling your hair out trying to get the TPC grub screw to work.

Here's a photo of ASP's modified TPC.

http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/a...1&d=1321998337

Disregard the broaching at the front; it's the groove in the middle of the threads you want to duplicate. Chuck the TPC up in a lathe, drill press or even a drill in a vice and carefully use a thin warding file to cut the groove. An o-ring in that will negate the need for the nylon grub screw and make velocity adjustments much more smooth and stable.

So true!! I now have to find a new set of phantom internals!

[ant]

Shimming the pump rod works a treat, been running it for about 6 months.

I used a small dab of thin CA glue to hold it in place (add a little graphite powder inside the brass sleeve, it will impregnate the brass and should be smooth as silk).

Also removed the stock return spring and put a much lighter spring on the pump rod of a CCI undercocking kit. It adds almost no additional resistance to the hammer spring, but just enough force to return the bolt and chamber a ball.

Also coated the pump rod with a mix of graphite powder and white lithium grease.

To polish the internals, i used a swansdown mop and jewelers rouge and it came out like a mirror.

[CJOttawa]

Something I've been trying to get my hands on to no avail: molybdenum disulfide powder.

While Moly grease is fairly easy to find, it's usually highly adulterated, only a few percent molybdenum.

Pure molybdenum powder or high percentage paste can be burnished into metal or plastic to give it excellent anti-friction properties.

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Venturi-Me...075149&sr=8-35

[dundadun]

Just throwing it out there, but maybe some of this Micro mesh might get you a nice polish. Not sure what grits your working with all the powders but I've used the orbital sander micro mesh pads to get acrylics clear as glass.

Micro-Mesh - Rockler Woodworking Tools

[Have Blue]

Originally Posted by CJOttawa

Something I've been trying to get my hands on to no avail: molybdenum disulfide powder.

Look for moly powder at shops that sell reloading supplies - it's a popular bullet lube IIRC, and I know I've seen it online before.

[anomoly40]

It's taken 5 years, but I finally worked mine in to perfection. Im afraid to do anything else to it.

[ant]

Cj, try a locksmith, i used to use it heaps in high use door and safe mechanisms. For all intents and purposes, finely ground graphite and white lithium work amazingly (just don't use it on the valves)