Cleaning your Tungsten, steel-tip dart barrels is essential for protecting their longevity and maintaining a usable state. Whether it’s because of a gradual buildup of dirt over time or a more obvious reason, such as using dart finger wax when you throw, almost all soft-tip or steel-tip dart players will need to clean their darts at some point.

Having dirty darts is not only bad for you, as they can contain a lot of bacteria from your hands or even the floor, but it is also bad for the darts themselves. If you have ever noticed that your darts may be slipping a lot more from your hands, it is more than likely due to a buildup of dirt in the grooves, which provide grip when you throw. 

Of course, the metal barrel will wear down over time with regular use, but dirt can speed up this process, meaning you will need to replace them quicker. In this blog, we will walk you through the process of cleaning your dirty darts.

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Preparation

First off, Tungsten doesn’t rust, so don’t worry about your precious ol’ faithful getting damaged. However, DO worry about your steel dart tips, they are made from Steel as the name suggests, so they will rust very easily if exposed to water and not dried properly. We recommend that you remove the points with a re-pointing tool before dunking them in water. If you use Swiss points, these will be a lot easier to remove by simply twisting them off with the Swiss point removal key. Hopefully, it goes without saying, but remove your flights and stems as well, so that the only object going into the video is the barrel.

Once your darts are ready to go, you’re going to need dish soap and warm water mixed in a shallow bowl, with enough of the solution to submerge the barrels completely. The water should be as warm as possible without any risk of burning yourself, so that it can effectively lift the dart from that mucky Tungsten. 

Lastly, in the preparation stage, grab yourself a soft-bristled toothbrush or a sponge, and then you’re ready to get cleaning. It’s important to find a tool that strikes a balance between being able to clean the barrel, but not anything too rough that will damage it further. Avoid using any metal bristles, as they can strip the paint from painted darts that are coated with a coloured material.

Cleaning Process

Fully submerge all three barrels into your water mixture for around 10 minutes, and allow the solution to begin working on loosening the dirt. 

Once you take them out of the water, give them a light brush/rub to further loosen the dirt all over. Then, dip them back into the water to remove any debris that has come off, and remove them again. Now, give them a bit of a deeper clean by getting right into any of the fine grooves and ensuring that the ring cuts are cleaned all the way around. 

Repeat this cleaning process until you are satisfied with how much dirt has come off, and if you still spot any afterwards, start the process again until the dirt has been removed. If there are any stubborn sections of dirt, a toothbrush is recommended to scrape them away. 

Alternatively, you can try and use an ultrasonic cleaner, but manual cleaning tends to work more effectively. Please be aware that if you do choose to use this, there is a chance that any painted darts may lose their coating as a result.

Rinsing and reconstruction

Remove the cleaned barrels from the water one by one, and straight away dry them off with either a paper towel or a tea towel. Give them a nice rub down and make sure there is no remaining water in the thread at either end of the dart barrel. 

Now it's time to put your darts accessories back onto the dart barrel. Re-attach your points, again, whether that is with a re-pointing tool or with the Swiss point key, then re-attach your flights and stems.

Once your darts are back together, you will have clean darts and they're ready to throw again! You should notice a difference straight away with how the barrel feels, and it should have regained some of its grip that you fell in love with before it got all grimey.

Conclusion

Cleaning darts is a very straightforward process that takes less than 20 minutes in most cases and gives a refreshed feel to your beloved barrels. 

Should this be too long a process for some of you, the alternative is to buy a new set of darts to replace your ones, and you’re in the right place! Browse our collection of Darts here, and if you spend over £50 in the UK before 1 pm (Monday-Friday), they will be with you the next day!