Grease & Lube

About the different types of Airsoft Gun and Gearbox Lubrication

Your AEG (automatic electic gun) has a gearbox inside of it that contain many high stress components. These components work together to make your gun shoot in semi automatic and full automatic modes safely ands reliably. When the airsoft guns are assembled at the factory, the gearbox is treated as a sealed unit with all the essential components greased and oiled so that you can enjoy your airsoft gun for tens of thousands of rounds before needing any servicing. The gearboxes of any good and well designed airsoft gun is designed to be serviced by an experienced technician.

When you have it open, it is recommended you clean the gearbox of any old greases and apply a fresh one to have a smoother fucntioning gearbox. The components you will see inside the gearbox that come greased or lubricated are: the piston head, the piston body, the cylinder, and the gear set. Since gearboxes come prelubricated at the factory, this area is not to be of concern for a newly purchased airsoft gun. Though the quality of greases that can be used could be better, it is entirely subjective and up to the person working on the gearbox if the factory grease is adequate enough or not.

Any sort of gearbox disassembly should be done by an experienced airsoft technician. If you require tech services, we offer them here for most popular AEG platforms.

Q & A: 
Q: What is the right type of lubricant to use? Grease or oil?
A: Parts such as the gears rotate at great speeds. As such, a lubricant that sticks to the gears while reducing friction is ideal Gear greases that are thicker/heavier 
weights will be the kind you want to use. Excessively slick grease or oils can splatter around everywhere and could potentially cause problems with electronic fire 
control systems when the grease gets inside.

Q: What lubricant should I use for the gears?
A: A lithium grease or similar weight grease should be used. Prior to applying the grease, gears should be completely cleaned and degreased and the gears should 
be properly shimmed.

Q: What lubricant should I use for the piston head o-ring?
A: As with all rubber components found inside an airsoft gun, anything that does not contain any petroleum products is ideal. The petroleum found in certain gun oils 
and solvents will wear out the o-rings and cause them to degrade, ruining your air seal and degrading your AEG's velocity and performance.

Q: What lubricant should I use for the piston body?
A: The piston body rails as well as the piston body teeth can be lubricated with lithium grease or something of similar weight.

Q: What lubricant should I use for the cylinder walls?
A: The cylinder does not need lubricant as these are slick already and will rely on the little bit of lubricant on the piston head. A quality cylinder will be very smooth 
and have no friction to it as the piston head travels through it. Clean and degrease the cylinder and cylinder head as old grease and gunk often add friction.