How To Make Your Own Paintballs? [DIY Method]

One of the most popular recreational games in the world is paintball. Once a friendly, neighborhood game, this sport has paved its way right into the professional rank, with the help of different leagues and organizations, both internationally and domestically.

Hence, the making of paintballs is now a massive business for the game. The good thing is you don’t need any complicated materials or components for making paintballs.

So you can easily make them at home and by yourself within a short time. The article will focus on how to make paintballs efficiently and effectively. We will also discuss reusable paintballs and their benefits for everyone, including beginners and amateurs.

Ways To Make Your Homemade Paintball Bombs

Before making them, you need to know what paintballs are made of. They are primarily composed of an outer shell that is filled with paint. If you in a hurry, buy the best paintball here.

• Preparing the Mixture and Shell

To make homemade paintballs, you need a mixture of corn-type oils, water, and flour. And most importantly, you also need gelatin for the outer shell. Gelatin is a substance that is used to make things like gummy bears.

The paintballs are typically made of non-toxic materials, including the components used for the paint filler and the outer shell. So, it will take around half an hour to mix and melt everything together.

Once you make the mixture, you need to store the shell at a cold temperature so that the shape can solidify accurately.

• Choosing Your Paint

As we have already mentioned, everything used in making homemade paintballs is entirely biodegradable and non-toxic. However, on a commercial level, some of the paintballs usually contain toxins, so make sure that the materials you buy for your paint are non-toxic and environmentally friendly.

Most paintballs are typically made of a dye called polyethylene glycol. This is the same liquid that is used for cough syrup. Before you select a paint color for your paintballs, there are some things that you need to keep in mind.

The paint color depends on where you usually play paintball, whether it is indoors or outdoors. You should also choose a bright color to make it more visible after you shoot it individually. Most paintballs that are used today have a bright blue, pink, or yellow color.

• Filling It In

Now that you set the paintball’s outer shell and chose the color, we can jump right into filling the paintball. This is an easy and quick step to do. One of the most common methods of filling the paintball is the use of a syringe.

So you need to fill the syringe with the color of your choice and then inject it right into the shell until it is filled with the dye. You should leave a tiny amount of air space on the surface so that it can easily break open to release the fluid when it comes in contact with a person.

• Seal and Store

The last step is to seal and store the paintballs that you have made. After you have filled them up with the dye, you need to use a sealant such as super glue to cover up the small injection hole made by the syringe.

Once you have sealed off all the paintballs properly, you need to store them carefully in a box, at room temperature.

You must keep the paintballs at room temperature because if you store them in a cold area, then the paint inside the shell will thicken up, making it difficult for the outer shell to burst open upon contact with an object.

Safety Tips to Keep in Mind

Even though all the materials used in making paintballs are edible, since they are made of food items, it is advisable not to eat them since they will taste disagreeable as they are prone to dry up in the mouth.

Also, the polyethylene glycol dye is a laxative that can cause gastrointestinal distress if you manage to eat a few paintballs. So they need to keep out of the reach of children.

In earlier times, paintballs were made of glass and were usually filled with inedible oil-based dye because they were used to mark cattle and trees. However, modern paintballs are made of edible things so they can easily be washed out of clothes.

Reusable Paintballs

Paintballs are not paintballs that you pick from the ground for another day of the game. They are a foamy substitute for a dye-filled paintball. Like regular paintballs, the reusable ones are the same size.

But they weigh slightly more than the regular ones, and they are not filled with paint. Since they do not break open upon contact, this makes them ideal for an indoor game where a collection of broken paintballs and objects sprayed with paint colors might be a problem.

• Leave Scope for Cheating

The reusable paintballs have a hard outer shell that is filled with foam. Since they do not break open when fired, they leave no mark, so it becomes easier for players to cheat while playing with reusable paintballs.

• Cost More but Aimed to Save

This type of paintball was initially designed for those players who were looking to save money on ammunition. They are also more expensive than regular paintballs because whereas the regular ones break open, these stay intact when they are fired.

And you can also use them as many times as you want. All you have to do is gather them up after the game and store them away for another day.

• No-Risk of Injury

Furthermore, as they don’t break down, they are also prone to cause more injury upon impact. So, it would be best if you were careful with your shooting style and range while using the reusable paintballs. For instance, when shooting a regular paintball, it can be fired at 90 m/s, about 300 feet.

But for a reusable paintball, you need to shoot it at 73 m/s, which is about 240 feet. There are rules or steps that you need to follow regarding storing these paintballs.

• Perfect for New Players

Since they are not made of any edible materials or dye, you can store them anywhere you want. Players who are trying out the game for the first time usually start with reusable paintballs.

This is because playing with reusable balls can give you an idea of how the game is played. And since you are new to the game, you can practice with these as many times as you want.

With the regular paintballs, you can’t use them more than once since they will break on impact. So, starting with reusable paintballs is a better idea than starting with regular ones.

Conclusion

Starting, it can seem difficult or complicated to make your own paintballs, but once you get all the information needed and the proper steps to follow, you can easily make them without any hassle.

If you follow the DIY paintball method mentioned above, we can guarantee you will have paintballs that are just as efficient as the store-bought ones. Keep in mind that you need to keep them stored at room temperature to don’t melt or freeze in any other conditions.

You can also have a fun time playing paintball with the reusable paintballs as they are specially designed for indoor use and can be used as many times as you like.