Welcome to our technical Page.

We would like to share some aspects of O-ring dynamics. Some paintball enthusiasts are hungry for technical information and we would like to provide some of what we have learned from sealing air shocks with O-rings. Reducing friction in our shocks was one of the most important factors we had to deal with.

Slick Honey does not effect or swell O-rings in any way. We have been using this grease on O-rings for over 12 years and have had great results.

When do I replace O-rings? We have found that using an eye loop or a good magnifying glass, you can determine if you should replace or not. First thing I look for is a minor flat spot on the surface that meets with the bore or the spot which the movement takes place. If you can detect any wear or flat spot replace it. Second, carefully inspect for gouges or cuts and if any are detected replace. If your O-ring passes this it is more than likely as good as new.

Friction free O-ring performance not only depends on a good lubricant but also a good O-ring fit. Unfortunately, this is not always a perfect world and in manufacturing, the tolerance of parts play a big roll in costs. The tighter the tolerance the more it costs to build. When you have a bore with a piston (bolt) and a seal you have what is called tolerance stack up. You have 3 factors that add up to your actual squish on the o-ring which is bore diameter, gland diameter and the actual diameter of the o-ring. Tolerance of the O-rings are fairly loose and can sometimes very up to +-.003”. which makes a possible variance of .006” before you even consider what your marker bore and gland really measures. In the manufacturing world anything tighter than .002” tolerance the machinists cry. High end manufactures can control this much better. Specifications from o-ring suppliers give you a .010 tolerance on a 1/8” O-ring (.012 to .022) squish. Now all these figures fall into the category of within specification but if your unit has .022” of squish you will have a sticky action over an o-ring with .012” of squish. I am confident that an experienced paintballer that pays attention to his equipment has experienced this. Here is a great link to an O-ring company that has great technical information on all kinds of O-rings.  http://www.oringswest.com

Keep in mind that surface finish and the condition of your bore is extremely important to the overall performance.

In the future we intend to add more technical information for you. We would appreciate any feed back on this technical page and if you have good advise to share we would certainly consider posting your comments.
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