Cleaning Paintball Equipment

By Author: Razvan Jr
Total Articles: 273
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Paintball is a very popular outdoor sporting activity where players compete against each other on a battlefield and shoot by using specialized guns that deliver a ball-shaped pellet filled with paint to its desired target. What you might not know is that there are a couple of chemicals that are used for producing the paintballs. Although most of the paintballs are labeled as nontoxic, some of the used ingredients can have severed adverse reactions in animals if they are ingested.

The pellets that are used to hold the paint and that give the shape of the paintball are manufactured out of a mixture of Gelatin and Polyethylene Glycol. Many of you do not know the fact that various paintball producers make these pellets in the same way or very similar, that drug companies use to manufacture medicine capsules. The Polyethylene Glycol can have a diuretic effect on some animals if it is ingested and can cause PH levels in the blood to become toxic.

Another toxin used is glycerin which serves the purpose of being a thickening agent in the paintballs. It is also used in order to prevent the paintballs from freezing which ...
... is a very crucial when we take into consideration that this type of activity is very popular during winter in various parts of the world.

A big secret in the domain of manufacturing paintballs is ground pig skin powder. Manufacturers use it as it helps to keep the liquid ingredients inside the paintball from separating to retain the vibrancy of the paintball color. Yet another ingredient used is Sorbitol which serves the purpose of regulating the moisture inside the pellet which prevents the liquid ingredients from drying out. Another use of Sorbitol is that it increases the shelf life of the paintball. Non-toxic food grade dyes are used to color the liquid ingredients of the paintball to create the paint encapsulated in the pellet.

Here is some interesting information about the ingredients that are used for manufacturing paintballs: Propylene Glycol is quickly and easily absorbed by cells. This compound is the main reason for the awful taste, which is very "popular". Sorbitol is Polyethylene Glycol is used for preventing the mixture liquid from drying out. Both these compounds are non-toxic and water soluble, so you don't need to worry about stains on your skin or hair from paintballs. They can easily be wiped off with hot water and soap.

Because of this rather long list of ingredients used, there are some recommendations made as far as storing them is concerned. They must be kept in a dry environment with a temperature under 60 C. The place should be isolated from possible temperature variations, or at least big temperature variations. High temperatures or humidity can cause blowing up of the paintballs. It is not good for the paintballs to be in a hot or humid place even for short periods of time, because it can swell them.

As you can see, the process of manufacturing paintballs and storing them in a safe environment afterwards is not that simple as many of us might have thought. Most important thing to know is that they are perfectly safe for players if manufactured and stored correctly according to the laws and regulations.

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