In this article we will go over the process of field stripping and cleaning your Impulse. To ensure proper function you should clean and lube your Impulse after every day of play. If you do not oil and clean your marker on a regular basis, chances are it may cause some problems like premature o-ring wear, solenoid concerns, eye problems and in general functioning to less of it's normal performance capability. It is recommended by Smart Parts to use Dow33 only or you will void the factory warranty. I have been using 50W 100% silicone RC car shock lube on my Imp for the past couple of years and it works much better than Dow33 in my opinion. It's not so thick that it can cause FSDO(first shot drop off) and is silicone based the same as Dow33. This can be purchased at your local hobby shop that sells RC cars and trucks. It costs only a few dollars a bottle which is much less than the cost of Dow33 as well. I would not recommend using anything other than a silicone based oil to lubricate your Imp as this is an electro-pneumatic marker with an expensive solenoid that can cost you an excess of $80 to replace if you use the wrong product.

• Make sure your marker is ungassed before proceeding with this cleaning process.
• Remove the bolt pin and pull the bolt out through the back portion of the top tube.
• Using a 7/8" open end wrench remove the ram housing assembly from the bottom tube by turning it out counter clockwise. Be careful not to break the on/off button with the wrench when doing this. Once you break the torque you should be able to turn it by hand. When you get to a certain point you'll see that it doesn't appear to be moving the housing out any further. At this point pull the housing out with your hand. If it feels stuck you might just shimmy and pull it a little to work it the rest of the way out.
• If you have the stock valve in your Imp you'll want to remove the valve piston to clean and lube it. This can be accomplished by first removing the front cap turning it off counter clockwise. If it's difficult to turn you might try wrapping a rubber glove around it for a better grasp. Some front caps have a hole in the front so you can turn it out with a 3/16" allen wrench. Once the front cap is removed the valve spring will fall out. Now you can use a plastic or wooden object such as a pencil to push the valve piston out towards the front through the rear portion of the lower tube.
• You have now field stripped all of the basic components from your Imp to clean and lube.
• While placing the 7/8" open end wrench on the rear flats of the ram housing, use a 3/16" allen wrench and turn the rear cap off of the ram housing counter clockwise. Remove the o-ring from inside of the housing so you don't lose it.
• At this point a lambs wool material swab comes in handy. You can use paper toweling and run it through with a dowel rod or similar as well. I have a couple of lambs wool material swabs that I use for this step.
• Run the swab or paper toweling through the top and bottom tubes to get all existing oils and paint if you had an accident from them. You can use 2 swabs for this, the first to get all of the oil out and the second to polish any other light residue left. I have a delrin bolt so I swab and polish the top tube out with a dry swab first. I don't want any grease or oil in it because it's recommended not to use any lubricants at all with a delrin bolt as it can cause them to swell and lodge in the upper tube.
• Wipe all of the lubrication residue from the inside diameter of the valve body if you're using a stock valve. If you're using the New Designz RIP valve you can bypass the whole valve cleaning process because the valve piston is made of self lubricating delrin.
• Now you need to wipe any old lubrications from the parts that you removed. Just wipe them as dry as you can because it's fairly difficult to remove all residues when using silicone based lubricants.
• Push the ram and hammer forward in the ram housing assembly and twist a piece of paper toweling into the rear portion to get all of the old residues from the inside of the ram housing body.
• Time to relubricate all of the parts that you removed before reinstalling them. When using Dow33 I suggest using it sparingly because a little goes a long way. Using too much in the wrong places such as on the ram and hammer and inside the ram housing can cause FSDO.
• If you're using the stock aluminum bolt spread a modest layer of lube on the o-rings and the flat surfaces that will make contact with the upper tube inner diameter. As I stated earlier, if you're using a delrin bolt don't use any lubrication on the bolt at all.
• If using the stock valve, apply a small amount of lube on the o-ring area of the valve piston and reinstall it in the valve body through the front of the body. Put the spring back on the front portion of the valve piston and reinstall the front cap. Before installing the front cap put a little lube on the o-ring so when it will be less difficult to remove the next time you wish to remove it.
• NOTE: If you'd like to rid your Imp of that strange pinging noise caused by the valve spring while shooting, you can install a rubber washer that fits into the front cap where the spring rests and the pinging noise will subside.
• Now comes the fun part, lubricating the ram housing. First with the ram and hammer extended, lube the inside of the ram housing. When I still used Dow33 I first twisted a piece of paper toweling into it to make the shape of the inner ram housing. I then randomly applied the Dow33 on the formed paper toweling then reinserted it twisting it inside to spread it onto the inner walls. Since I now use the RC car shock lube I just put a few drops inside then work the ram and hammer assembly back and forth twisting it to spread it evenly across the inner surfaces. Return the back cap temporarily to proceed with the next step.
• There are (8) tiny air passage holes on the outside of the ram housing, (4) in the front and (4) in the back. With the ram and hammer pushed back in the housing, squeeze some lube in all of the holes. Now work the ram and hammer assembly back and forth turning it at the same time to spread it evenly on the inside of the ram housing. Some of it will be pushed back out of the holes. You can use this excess to lube the outer o-rings of the ram housing assembly.
• Remove the back cap now and remove any excess lubrication that may be left in the back of the ram. Excess lubrication inside can cause FSDO.
• Apply a little Lube to the o-ring that you removed from the rear of the housing earlier and put it back in place then lightly torque the back cap back on the housing with the 7/8" open end wrench and 3/16" allen wrench.
• Lubricate the outer (3) o-rings of the ram housing and you're done.
• If you'd like to you can extend the ram and hammer assembly and use any excess lube on your fingers to lube the ram. Put absolutely no lubrication on the hammer at all. Since it doesn't touch the lower tube walls, there's no need to. Applying too much lube to the outer portion of the ram and/or hammer can cause FSDO. 
• Return the ram housing assembly into the back lower tube of the body. Once it gets to the o-rings you may have to shimmy it a bit before it'll go in. Once it's screwed back into place and stops turning, it only needs to be very lightly torqued back on.
• Insert the bolt back into the upper tube making sure that the large air passage hole is facing downward.
• Insert the bolt pin into the hole of the bolt making sure that it goes into the slot of the hammer. If you can freely move the bolt back and forth holding the pin with no resistance at all, it's not properly inserted into the hammer slot. If you shoot your Imp in this condition you can cause internal damage and greatly deform the stock hammer.

Consistently cleaning and maintaining your equipment on a regular schedule will make it as reliable as you would expect it to be. Abuse it and you can expect it to fail you at the most inopportune moment possible..............

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