Does Paintball Paint Wash Out? – Paintball Beasts
It wouldn’t be wrong to say, “A long day of paintball can leave you in a complete mess“. In paintball, your clothes are meant to be stained with marks of paint and mud and that’s the beauty of this sport. If you are new to paintball, a question might come to your mind, what happens to the clothes after the match is over? Does paintball paint wash out easily?
Don’t worry, a lot of new players have the same concern and in this guide, we will focus on whether these tiny little balls can be washed out of the clothing. Later in this guide, we also mentioned a few tips that you can use to wash off paint from any object easily.
In order to remove paint stains from your clothes, we first have to take a look at the ingredients used to make paintballs.
What are paintballs made up of?
Paintballs are made up of several different components. The outer shell is gelatin-based and the inside fill contains a mix of water, polyethylene glycol, food-grade dye, and biodegradable oil. After being shot at an object or person they burst open on impact leaving behind their paint mark.
Do Paintballs Stain Clothes?
Yes, they do. They are meant to leave a mark of paint on your clothes or body. A single hit from a paintball is enough to create an impact that will stain the fabric of your clothes. However, this stain is not permanent and can come off pretty easily if you know the right thing to do.
How To Wash Paintball Clothes? – Does Paintball paint wash out easily?
Now that we know paintballs do stain clothes, the next question is how to wash them off. The good news is that it’s not as hard as it might seem.
1. Pretreating with water
The best thing you can do after staining your clothes with a paintball is to soak them in water as soon as you can. You can also use running water to wash off as much paint as possible before putting them in the washing machine.
By pretreating your clothes with water, you will not get rid of all the stains, obviously. However, this will certainly remove a lot of paint marks, and the washing machine will handle the rest.
In addition, if the paint on your clothes is dried out, you should scrub it off with a brush and hot water before you throw it in the washer.
2. Washing Paintball clothes
The second thing you can do to remove paint is use the washing machine. Put all your paintball-stained clothes in one single load and separate them from other clothing items especially light-colored ones before putting them in the washer.
Add detergent with warm water, nothing else needs to be added here. With just one cycle of washing, your clothes will be as clean as new.
However, if the stains are still there, use a quality stain remover and apply it only to the stained area. You might be required to rub the stain remover with a brush depending on what product you choose to apply.
3. Letting the clothes air dry
After washing your clothes, the last step is to let them air dry. This might take a little longer than using the washing machine, but it’s definitely worth it if you want to avoid any damage to your clothes. On top of that, the sun’s UV rays always contribute to the lightning of stains.
Hang the clothes outside in direct sunlight and wait for them to dry completely before folding them.
Removing paint from paintball gears
Clothes are not the only thing that gets dirty after a long day of paintball, your paintball gear will also be covered in paint. Removing paint from your paintball gear is much easier than removing it from clothes.
1. Paintball Gun
The first thing to do when cleaning your paintball gun is to take your paintball gun apart. All you have to do is remove the barrel, the hopper, and the air tank.
Make a solution of water and a little amount of dishwashing soap. You can then use a cloth and soak it in the solution to clean all the parts of your gun. Make sure you get into every little nook and corner. Use a barrel squeegee to clean the inside of the barrel.
After that, wipe the paint off your hopper and air tank. Ideally, the paint should come off with this solution. However, if the paint is dried, you can use a small brush to scrub off any paint residue.
Once you are done, pat dries all the components with a dry cloth and apply lubrication to your paintball gun.
2. Paintball Masks
First, remove the lens from your mask and soak it in warm water for a few minutes. This will allow the paint to become soft enough to be easily wiped with a soft cloth. For the remaining body, remove any paint that is stuck to the paintball mask by scrubbing it with a toothbrush or an old cloth.
After scrubbing, you can then dip your cloth in soapy water and use it to wipe off all of the remaining paint on the mask’s body. However, for lenses, use a lens cleaner with a soft and clean cloth (preferably microfiber), in order to avoid any scratch marks on the lens.
Remove Paintball Paint From Walls
Removing paintball paint from walls is very easy and doesn’t require the need of any specialized product. The best way to remove paintball paint from walls is by washing it off with water using a garden hose. Turn the water on high and spray the area until most of the paint is gone.
If there is still some paint left, use a scrub pad or sponge to wash off the residue. Be sure to mix liquid detergent in with the water until bubbles form. Keep scrubbing the area gently until all of the paint is gone.
Although, most of the time, the paint comes off right away by just spraying the water and scrubbing it gently with liquid soap. However, if the paint is still not coming off or maybe there are too many paintball stains to clean, then power washing is the best option as it will save you time and effort.
Remove Paintball Paint From Cars
Just like with walls, the best way to remove paintball paint from cars is by washing it off with water. However, if there are too many stains and the water doesn’t seem to be working, then use a car-washing detergent.
Apply the detergent directly to the stain and use a cloth to wipe it. Let it sit for a few minutes so that the detergent can loosen up the paint. Once it’s done, rinse off the area with water until all of the soap is gone.
If there are any stubborn spots that still haven’t come off, then use a soft scrub pad dipped in soapy water to help loosen up the paint, make sure that you are doing it gently, or else you might scratch your car’s paint.
Tips for washing out paintball-stained clothes easily
So you’ve had a great day of paintball, but when you came back home and checked your clothes before washing them there were spots all over. Don’t worry, with these quick tips your clothes will be brand new in no time.
1. Always soak your paintball stained clothes before cleaning
Always soak your clothes in warm water with a little amount of laundry soap. This will help loosen and dissolve any paint residue on your clothes, so you can easily scrub it off later.
If there are some stubborn stains that won’t come out even after soaking them overnight, then use a soft toothbrush or an old cloth to gently brush them off before throwing them into the washer.
2. Wear dark-colored clothes
The easiest way to avoid any paintball stains is by wearing dark-colored clothes. This will help camouflage the paint and it’ll be a lot easier to clean them off when you get back home.
Apart from that, dark clothes are difficult to notice and are also great in providing you cover in woodsball and scenario paintball.
3. Using a dedicated Paintball jersey
Another way to avoid any paintball stains on your clothes is by using a dedicated Paintball jersey. This will help keep the paint from getting on your regular clothes and you’ll be able to just wash the jersey when it gets stained.
Most jerseys are made out of cotton or polyester, which are both easy to wash. However, if you are using a jersey that is made out of a different material, be sure to check the care instructions before washing it.
If you don’t have a dedicated Paintball jersey, then another way to avoid any paintball stains on your clothes is by wearing a disposable raincoat or poncho.
4. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
Lastly, the best way to avoid paintball stains on your clothes is by just wearing clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. This will save you a lot of time and effort when it comes to washing them later on. Even if the stain doesn’t go away, your favorite cloth won’t be ruined.
Read more about paintball clothing tips in our Ultimate Paintball Clothing Guide
Final Words – Wrapping it up
So there you have it! These are some tips and tricks on how to easily wash out any paintball stains that you might get while playing. Just keep in mind to wear dark clothes, try not to wear your favorite ones, and always soak them before washing them. And the best of all is to use a dedicated paintball jersey.
Paintball is a great sport and we don’t want something as small as paintball stains to ruin our fun. Have a great day playing and remember to always have fun!
Happy paintballing!
