Obviously I know you have to be careful with projectiles etc but just wondering as the title suggests.....could a paintball smash through a 1/2 inch thick piece of wood (asking for a friend) 
Could a Paintball go through 1/2 inch wood......Hypothetically?
- Thread starter slowreality
- Start date
plywood.. No, Brittle old fence panel.. perhaps.
Not unless said piece of wood had been sat in the wet untreated and was already falling apart.
If I was going to build a thing to shoot at... I would probably want to use plastic, or be sure to treat my boards in such a way that they were washable... as that way the paint won't sit on them and cause them to deteriorate.
Not legal advice but.
If however... said piece of wood is a fence... you may well be liable for damages regardless as paint will stain it... and can easily drip down the other side... also .. you might not own that fence.
Not unless said piece of wood had been sat in the wet untreated and was already falling apart.
If I was going to build a thing to shoot at... I would probably want to use plastic, or be sure to treat my boards in such a way that they were washable... as that way the paint won't sit on them and cause them to deteriorate.
Not legal advice but.
If however... said piece of wood is a fence... you may well be liable for damages regardless as paint will stain it... and can easily drip down the other side... also .. you might not own that fence.
Oh no said hypothetical piece of wood would be MDF about 1/2 inch thick......8 x 4 ish
MDF will be become soft if wet... paint will eventually break itOh no said hypothetical piece of wood would be MDF about 1/2 inch thick......8 x 4 ish
What would you suggest? I could just keep it in the shed so after I’m done it won’t get wet?
Eventually the paint would harm it - if youre just shooting at it - get a pallet board probably be harder wearing
SpecOps scenario paint from back in the day wouldn’t do wood much good, we could literally break branches
The danger of a lot of ‘wood’ today is it isn’t true wood, so once it’s got damp it will begin to disintegrate
For a target board you could get away with it, but even in the shed MDF is going to attract damp
If you check it before and after use and make sure whatever is behind is safe then you can use it. Put a blanket behind and if the target breaks in use then you have saved any disaster
The danger of a lot of ‘wood’ today is it isn’t true wood, so once it’s got damp it will begin to disintegrate
For a target board you could get away with it, but even in the shed MDF is going to attract damp
If you check it before and after use and make sure whatever is behind is safe then you can use it. Put a blanket behind and if the target breaks in use then you have saved any disaster
We put some real steal printed targets up onto sheets of plywood and covered with sheets of thick vinyl (probably 3mm)
These haven’t had heavy use but have survived occasional use
These haven’t had heavy use but have survived occasional use
No a paintball won't go through 1/2 inch of wood unless it's completely rotten or balsa wood, MDF isn't wood so you asked the wrong question.
If your aim is to stop paintballs from going into neighbours gardens i would suggest an 8x4 foot sheet of board isn't big enough unless you're shooting at it from a couple of feet away, all it takes is 1 barrel break and the next shot could quite easily miss that board and go where you don't want it to. Site use netting to keep paint out of places it's not wanted to go, i'd suggest using that, builders scaffolding netting is ideal for this.
If your aim is to stop paintballs from going into neighbours gardens i would suggest an 8x4 foot sheet of board isn't big enough unless you're shooting at it from a couple of feet away, all it takes is 1 barrel break and the next shot could quite easily miss that board and go where you don't want it to. Site use netting to keep paint out of places it's not wanted to go, i'd suggest using that, builders scaffolding netting is ideal for this.
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