Carbon Fiber Tip Cleaning?!

gtpinoy · 05-22-2014, 10:13 AM

I was cleaning out my the Carbon Fiber Tip yesterday and when I swabbed it out, I noticed a black shard in the swab.

I inspected the barrell and found this:

I then emailed the photos to Empire's Paintball Solutions and received this response:

"You must use a rubber squeegie to clean the carbon fiber barrels. If you use a battle swab, the micro fibers grab onto the fibers from the carbon."

Maybe I'm just a newbie, but this is what the Instructional Manual indicates:

"It is recommended that all sections of the barrel be removed before any maintenance or disassembly is performed. Simply turn the full barrel counter-clockwise to remove. Use warm water and a barrel cleaning device to keep the barrel in top conditions. Dry thoroughly."

No where does it indicate that I shouldn't use a barrel swab or to only use a rubber squeegie. Not too happy with the response from Empire on this one.

Is the damage going to affect the performance of the barrel? I'm a screwed and have to buy a new Vanquish barrel tip? What's your thoughts on how to clean a Carbon Fiber Barrel, in general?

pbplayer22 · 05-22-2014, 10:47 AM

ive always used battle swabs or one like them. Never had a problem and ive owned deadly wind, stiffi tips, and now the empire tip. If they wont replace it, id just get a stella kit. quieter and much much much more accurate

gtpinoy · 05-22-2014, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbplayer22

ive always used battle swabs or one like them. Never had a problem and ive owned deadly wind, stiffi tips, and now the empire tip. If they wont replace it, id just get a stella kit. quieter and much much much more accurate

I figured that battle swabs wouldn't be a problem, that's why I was pretty taken back by the response and actually wasn't really expecting that type of response with the type of positive feedback most people have been getting from Kee Customer Service. It doesn't sound like they are going to do anything for me on this one.

I'm pretty new to this, who makes the stella kit. Do I just search for "stella kit"?

alex adames · 05-22-2014, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtpinoy

I figured that battle swabs wouldn't be a problem, that's why I was pretty taken back by the response and actually wasn't really expecting that type of response with the type of positive feedback most people have been getting from Kee Customer Service. It doesn't sound like they are going to do anything for me on this one.

I'm pretty new to this, who makes the stella kit. Do I just search for "stella kit"?

Inception desings make the Stella barrels

tjboston5676 · 05-22-2014, 11:07 PM

get you a luxe tip or a lurker barrel

EmpireTech · 05-23-2014, 08:01 AM

I don't see why we will not help on this one. PM me and ill see what i can do for you. It may be that we do not have stock on that barrel color or something was misunderstood.

aimeagle21 · 05-23-2014, 09:32 PM

^^^^^^^This is just one of the reasons I own a Vanquish!^^^^^^^^

warpedspeed05 · 05-23-2014, 10:40 PM

I agree ^^^^

gtpinoy · 05-27-2014, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmpireTech

I don't see why we will not help on this one. PM me and ill see what i can do for you. It may be that we do not have stock on that barrel color or something was misunderstood.

PM Sent

Dennis Martinez · 06-08-2014, 08:57 PM

Same thing happened to me today.

ScottQ · 06-18-2014, 12:06 PM

Shouldn't have an impact on performance but PM or e-mail the techs and they'll take care of you.

Dark Cloud · 06-25-2014, 10:27 AM

I remember a while back when Carbon fiber barrels first started to show up a lot of people were saying that rubber squeegees were the only way to go.

It makes sense that the carbon fibers would latch onto the cloth of the battle swab if there was slight damage to the CF so that it was fraying ever so slightly. But I think the paintball barrels with CF have gotten better in quality so this became less of an issue. Nice to see that empire is taking a hands on approach to solving your problem.

gtpinoy · 06-25-2014, 01:57 PM

Still trying to get the issue resolved, but good to know that Empire is there to help!

EmpireTech · 06-26-2014, 08:14 AM

We are waiting on our new 14" Alu tips to come in. Once we have them here we will be able to exchange the Carbon tips for them.

gtpinoy · 07-03-2014, 12:14 AM

Why do the new Vanquish 1.5 now come with a 14" AND 16" aluminum tips? Is there a known issue with the 1.0 carbon fiber tips?

Dirty J · 07-03-2014, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmpireTech

We are waiting on our new 14" Alu tips to come in. Once we have them here we will be able to exchange the Carbon tips for them.

Is this swap out available to all users? I hate not being able to use a battle swab on the field...

iPaintSlinger · 07-05-2014, 09:52 AM

The same thing happened to my CF tip on my Carbon Fiber Axe. It actually happened a few times. Naturally I was a little annoyed so I just stopped using cloth swabs on the tip all together. Wonder if we all can get parts swapped for shards of carbon fiber flaking out of the barrel.

If I should have posted this in the Axe threads then I apologize but it seems very relevant to this situation.

iPS

MATTSDAD · 07-07-2014, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtpinoy

Why do the new Vanquish 1.5 now come with a 14" AND 16" aluminum tips? Is there a known issue with the 1.0 carbon fiber tips?

I dont believe they are making CF tips anymore.