Paintball!

I'm in the same boat, having moved to Edmonton and seeing some nice places to play, including a brand new 100,000 sq ft indoor facility that was a 3 story office building.  I was thinking of getting a cyclone for my 98 and using the ugly flatline barrel on it, I also have an a5 with either flatline or apex.  The indoor field has 98's or BT's, 225fps for chrono and $20 for drop-in games.  

SSOK wrote: What paint should I use?

Duracoat or Cerakote will give you a nice, tough finish that will last. Basically any paint/coating for home firearms painting will do the trick. Otherwise, a nice enamel with multiple thin coats will treat you well.

I don't know what to do for tanks. I'll figure that out. I have a C/F HPA tank that is old. Do these things "expire" and can't be rehydroed? I think I remember there being a limit.

15 years IIRC, with re-hydro probably being every 3 years for yours given the time period. The reality is that they last much, much longer, but DOT regs are in place due to transportation and rough handling of bulk gases and "exchange" tanks that take a beating. Newer tanks are re-hydro every 5 years, and I seem to remember that the DOT talked about upping the lifespan to 20 years, but don't quote me on that last part.

That said. I've played with a tank that's probably 3 years out of hydro for as many years recently as well as a new one that will be up for hydro in another 2 years. Most guys are too lazy to pull the tight neoprene covers down to check when filling. I'll send it out this year for hydro since it's been so long, but given that I know the storage conditions, that it stays decompressed most of the time, and visually inspect the exterior regularly, I've felt safe using it over the past few years.

Edited by tallen702 - 17 December 2014 at 9:44am

I play quite a bit. You guys will love it! and I'm still using a factory Realtree A-5 from way back! 

Edited by FreeEnterprise - 17 December 2014 at 11:05am

Krylon.  I've got one older 98 that has had to be repainted twice I've had it so long.  Given proper prep, the Krylon looks good and lasts 5-7 years before needing replacement.

Anyone feel this is accurate? It has honestly been so long that I don't remember how much gas I went through in one day. I remember my 20oz lasting a decent time, my 50/3k being dissappointing, and the 68/3k being okay, but not fantastic.

Hs has pretty much phased out c02 to the point that in order to get refills you must either walk to the office or leave your parking spot which both are ridiculous and unreasonable expectations of the patrons.

I don't even take a barrel swab out in the field. A break is not worth shooting through and damaging equipment. Gun and paint, and maybe water.

It is funny how little differences popped up throughout the years on these things. I have two 98Cs, one from 2001 and "mine" with a 2004 manufacturing date and they look completely different.

Edited by SSOK - 18 December 2014 at 4:07pm

Yeah, most of the agg-type guys have left the "fun" fields and simply stick to their airball turf fields.

Most of the time at my local field, I've got the most high-tech gear and that's because I'm running a 6+ year old Mini.

We get some agg-looking type folks at the field I frequent but most of them started out as recreational woodsballers and tend to play that way when not on a speedball field.  We get very few of the stereotypical jerks.

As for still playing;  my favorite markers these days are a 98C with response trigger and cyclone, my B5 and my first A5.*

*One of the first ones the local shop got in.  I got one for my son as well.  They have sequential 3 digit serial numbers.  I look at the serial numbers on the new A5s and feel old.

Paint stripper is probably the best but transmission fluid will soften and damage the paint as well over a longer period of time. I wouldn't be too concerned about oxidation particularly because you plan to refinish it.

I can't imagine my polished aluminum 98 being any other way.

Edited by Lightningbolt - 21 December 2014 at 10:01am