How to Clean a Paintball Mask/Goggle

A paintball player’s mask or goggle system is the most important piece of equipment they own! While the paintball guns of the world might get all the glory because they do the shooting, it’s the paintball goggle that keeps a player safe every single moment they play the game and the item they’ll literally wear on their face the entire time they’re playing paintball. A clean paintball goggle is important not only because nobody likes anything touching their face that’s covered in paint spray, sweat and grime from a long day at the field, but also because it will keep it comfortable and fog-free!

Modern paintball goggles are designed to be simple to clean and maintain. During a day of paintball at the local field with friends, a paintball player will do some basic cleaning of their goggles by wiping hits off lenses and the mask with a cloth or towel and a spray bottle of warm water, as well as dabbing sweat out of facemask foam, but it’s after the day of play at the local field that cleaning a paintball goggle is really undertaken. Just like a paintball gun needs cleaning and maintenance like a wipe down and lubrication of internal components with oil or grease, a paintball goggle needs deep cleaning to function at its best.

The most critical component of a paintball mask or paintball goggle is its lens. Carefully designed and extensively tested to ensure it will stop a paintball and keep the wearer safe during play, a paintball goggle’s lens must be cleaned, but it should be cleaned carefully. As many modern paintball lenses are dual-pane, thermal designs to prevent fogging, they consist of a strong outer lens and a thinner lens inside separated by a small air pocket. These lenses should never be submersed in water as this could degrade or destroy their ability to fight fog by allowing water inside. Rather, the player should follow their manufacturer’s directions for removing the lens from the goggle frame and wipe the outer lens down with a damp cloth to remove paint, then do the same on the inner lens. Never use ammonia-based glass cleaners to clean a paintball goggle lens, rather warm water in a spray bottle or applied to a soft cloth will do the job just fine. Likewise, paper towels are a bit too abrasive for paintball goggle lenses – stick with a damp microfiber cloth to keep a lens clean and clear game after game.

Once the goggle lens is removed and carefully cleaned with a soft, damp cloth and set aside to dry, it’s time to clean the rest of the paintball goggle! As a paintball mask is generally made from various forms of plastic and softer rubber components, once the lens is removed it’s safe to spray the mask, earpieces, visor and other components out with warm water to break up and dissolve paint, shell and other debris. Paintball goggle foam can be sprayed with water and sweat dabbed out, but care should be taken not to tear or pull the foam away from the goggle frame. Once the mask is sprayed clean and wiped down, the entire assembly can be set aside to dry.

With the paintball mask and goggle lens cleaned and all that sweat, paint, broken shell and everything else sprayed, wiped and cleaned away, and the entire system is dry, it’s time for reassembly. Care should be taken to follow the goggle manufacturer’s instructions for reinstalling the lens into the goggle frame to be sure it functions properly. With the lens properly reinserted into the facemask, the entire paintball goggle system is clean and should look and even smell like new, ready for the next day of play.

Nobody likes pulling a paintball goggle out of their gear bag and finding it caked with paint and its foam smelling of sweat from the last time they played. A clean paintball goggle and facemask system will be infinitely more comfortable for the wearer, its anti-fog lens will perform its best and the player inside will enjoy the game much more!