The PGP itself is a decent little marker. It can be a blast to take one against other PGP's, or even any other marker. However, playing against even stock class Phantoms, I found myself outclassed, and sold it to get the parts for my Phantom.
So Patrick, I hope you're enjoying it.
While there's not a lot of modifications necessary for a PGP, there are some parts available, and some modifications that can be done to it that can enhance your playing experience. Here's a few of my own findings.
Cosmetics
I've seen some cool things done to a PGP. Slots cut in the top tube as a ball counter, plating, spring loaded, and even semi auto conversions. My modifications were a lot simpler: Polishing the Frame and painting the Body.
I had taken the (painstaking) time to polish and file the frame to removes a lot of "casting" marks. The frame is also made out of a "pot metal" which can be hard to polish and look good. Thank God for a Dremel tool and Autosol polish. :-) The original paint that was on there was a pain in the ass to remove too. It sure didn't seem like regular paint. Oh... after polishing, its a good idea to clear coat the part and let it cure for several days. This will protect the new polishing job, or else it will tarnish very quickly. It's also been recommended to me to bake the part afterward for a hard coating of the clear coat ( I was told 400 F for 20 minutes). Of course... I found this out after the project was done so I never did the last part. :-P
The paint finish on the body was very easy to remove with paint stripper (after all parts and internals are removed.). There is actually a very nice brass finish under all that paint that looks really sharp when it's polished. However, if you do decide to polish it, I don't recommend baking on the clear coat. The solder that holds the tubes isn't very strong and may melt.
After masking of the entire length of the inside of all tubes, I had mounted the body onto a dowel for painting. Patience is a virtue in this process. take your time and apply several light coats, giving lots of time for each coat to cure. Do the same thing for the clear coat after the paint has cured, and allow for the clear coat to cure. As I had stated before, I wouldn't bake the body due to the soft solder holding the body together.
Accessories
I didn't have a lot of extras on mine, but what I did have on there, worked well. :-) So I can only comment on what I had.
The 12 gram Quick Change is a must for any PGP owner. Greatly speeds in the changing of 12 grams, which reduces your "down time". Features a large, easy to grip knob and completely unscrews in 1 and 1/2 turns. they are getting a little hard to find, but I believe guys like Sam Tussing still makes them.
The Speedloader (big black thing off the back) did work work and did allow me to carry 3 extra rounds in it, but due to the location of the feed hole, I never had great success in rapidly loading the last 3 balls, since I now had to rock if forward to load them.
PMI's grips fit the Sheridan frame perfectly. While PMI does make a very comfortable rubber grip, they unfortunately do not make the wood grips anymore. Too bad really, they were stylish and comfortable. :-)
Internals
I've been told that having the valve ported can increase the air efficiency, as well as reducing the hammer weight, but unfortunately the guys who know how to do this aren't giving up their secrets. :-P As a note: PGP valves made after 1995 or 1996 can be removed by taking out a set screw. Valves prior to this needed a special tool to remove the valve. Mine was prior to this, and I didn't have the tool needed, but I was able to remove the valve. My recommendation for anyone trying this: DON'T! Although I did manage to remove the valve, there was a lead seal there that I managed to bugger up quite well and it leaked like a sieve. Fortunately, I found a Sheridan tech in Edmonton who was able to fix it (as well as honed and seated the valve body, replaced all the seals), but that cost me $45. So if you got the old style valve, forget about removing it. :-P
One of the easiest things you can do to help improve the performance of your PGP is to polish the barrel. Newer models seem to suffer from a bit of over sprayed paint just on the inside of the barrel. This is easily removed with some paint remover, but I recommend applying in very small amounts and with a Q-tip, or you risk removing the exterior paint job. If you feel ambitious enough and your careful, you can give your barrel a sort of home "honing" job. My barrel itself had no real scratches in it. I was more after a very smooth surface for the barrel. For this process I had used some very fine wet/dry sandpaper (600 to 1500 grit), wooden dowel, super fine steel wool (optional), a light oil (either air tool oil or WD-40), and a drill. I recommend that you have your PGP stripped down before starting this (see my note on valves before disassembly). Start first by cutting a slot into the dowel, into which you can mount a strip of sandpaper. Put some of the light oil inside the barrel and on the sand paper. Twist the strip of sandpaper to the direction of the travel of the drill and mount the dowel into the drill and insert into the barrel. now just turn the drill on and move the sandpaper back and forth along the length of the barrel. Since there's not a lot of pressure being applied on the sandpaper, you won't be removing a lot of metal so it'll be fairly safe to move the sandpaper back and forth for a little while. The 600 grit should be fine, but I wanted an extra finish so I used 1500 grit in the same procedure. Also be sure the oil is covering the entire surface of the barrel for best results. After this has been completed, you can push some super fine steel wool down the barrel several times. I don't know why, but I find using as fine of a steel wool as I can get seems to add an extra "buff" to whatever I may be polishing with sandpaper. Now after honing comes the polishing. For this you'll need a 12 gauge shotgun swab, polishing agent (either Brasso or I like to use Autosol), some gun cleaning rods, and the drill again. First, make sure all traces of oil have been removed from the barrel. Attach the swab to the gun cleaning rods and mount into the drill. Apply polishing paste to the swab, stick it in the barrel, turn the drill on and go to town. :-) A couple notes of caution though.... Brasso will work very well, but my favorite is Autosol. Problem with Autosol is that if you get it on the paint, it will eat it. Autosol also cuts quickly into metal if you polish it in one spot too long. So unless your confident in what your doing, I'd recommend just using Brasso. If you haven't been able to completely disassemble your PGP (valve still in), then I'd watch what your doing and not go any further than the air hole to the valve in the bottom of the barrel near the breech. Otherwise you'll get the valve assembly full of polish, which isn't going to do the seals any good. :-P After polishing, push either cloth or toilet paper down to remove excess polish and to help buff the surface. My favorite is to use an old sock on a dowel after the excess polish has been removed. Since brass can tarnish quickly, you may want to re-polish the barrel (just a quick shot of Brasso, you won't have to go through all the steps again if you've already honed it) just before a day's play to get maximum shine and reduced friction from your barrel.
About the only other major changes I had made was to the bolt. I had polished it to help reduce friction and hopefully aid in speeding the vice-like pumping action of the PGP, but the only thing that seems to help that is to cut the spring that holds the two ball bearings in place in the bolt. These bearings help keep the bolt in place while firing so it doesn't come back, but it's a royal pain to re-cock it. Star by removing a couple coils of the spring first to check the tension, then about half a coil at a time till it pumps with the ease and right amount of tension you like. It's all by preference.
What I've done here is just a small fraction of what can be done to a
PGP
For more information on the PGP, visit the PGP
Owners Group.
SNIPER BOB, 2000-20010