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Snapped trigger repair

Written by Ben
Last updated on 2008-06-14


Problem

The trigger of your water gun appears stuck in, and pulling it does little or nothing. There is a visible crack on the seam where the curved part of the trigger meets the flat part. The problem is that the trigger has fractured and either cracked or snapped off completely. Below is a photo of how a snapped trigger appears from the outside of a CPS 2700.

Some water guns are prone to this problem. The CPS 4100 and CPS 2700 are known to have snapped triggers. We suggest performing this repair before it breaks on water guns to prevent breaks in the future.

Solution

The solution to this problem is to attach a metal reinforcing strip to the trigger. Some others have used putty epoxy and have reported success, but I have not repaired in that manner, so the remainder of this guide will be about the metal strip repair. If you're adventurous, feel free to try putty epoxy.

Another solution to try in addition to the metal strip is a spring on a guide that will prevent a crack from developing and prevent an already existing crack from reopening. Jadefalcon has written a good guide to this method.

The above image shows the trigger prior to repair. I applied epoxy to the crack first and let it dry. I cut a small brass strip the width of the trigger and about an inch and a half long. Afterward, I sanded the curved part around the crack and the small metal strip. I applied epoxy to the sanded area of the trigger, bent the metal strip into the correct shape, and pressed the strip into the trigger, contouring it to the shape of the trigger. The trigger then was put into a clamp to help the metal adhere to the plastic better.

The final product looked like the image above.

If your trigger keeps breaking so you can not pull the trigger, your only option is to replace it with a wire trigger.

If you have any additional problems or questions, feel free to ask at our Repairs forum.


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