> Home> Ordering Info> Shopping Cart> Checkout> Contact Us > FAQs> New Items> Titanium Hammers> Other Items Frequently Asked Questions QUESTION: After I shoot for a while, the lubricating oil in my gun turns black. ANSWER: The dark color is caused by titanium oxide from the surface of the hammer. This is not harmful in any way . . . just wipe the part, re-lube and re-assemble your gun. QUESTION: Will I need to replace any springs? ANSWER: If your gun changes velocity by varying spring pressure on the hammer (like all Spyders and Spyder clones) you will probably need to replace springs. Tippmann guns do not vary spring pressure in order to change gun velocity, so a spring change is not necessary. QUESTION: The place where the sear engages the hammer is marked. Is it defective? ANSWER: Not at all. First of all what you are experiencing is normal. Titanium like many non-ferritic metals heat anneals and work hardens. The titanium in the striker has been treated to withstand this kind of use. What we have seen is that the metal frets a little when it is first installed and the surface is work hardening. The titanium oxide will turn the lubricating oil dark. Just wipe it off and any loose metal flakes and re-oil. Don't file or remove any of the wear surfaces. As the hammer wears in you will get less and less of this. We have test guns with titanium hammers/strikers in them and they have over 100,000 cycles on them and still counting. The wear hasn't significantly changed its appearance after the initial wear in period. QUESTION: Will I be able to shoot 13 bps more accurately? ANSWER: We don't make a lot of claims about the increase in speed our lighter hammer will allow, because there are so many other factors that come into play, but our calculations of the physics of just the mass reduction would indicate the speed would be about one third faster. But, that is not the biggest advantage of the Dark Horizon Titanium Hammer. The marker operates much smoother, quieter and doesn't bounce around nearly as much. That allows you to put more paint where you want it. Less bounce is a result of much less mass being slammed back and forth in the marker for each shot. The bigger the hammer the bigger the improvement by going to titanium.