About ReIonized

My own labeled parts inventory — organized down to the individual screw and o-ring size

Why this site exists

Smart Parts stopped supporting the Ion line years ago, but the marker never really went away — it's still one of the most common spool-valve markers on the used market, and still one of the least documented in one clear place. What's out there is scattered across old forum threads, one aging but genuinely excellent site (zdspb, with thanks — see the disclaimer for how that content is used here), and whatever survives on YouTube.

ReIonized pulls that together into one place, organized by exactly what you're holding — Ion, Ion 2.0, Ion XE, or Epiphany — written from actually taking these markers apart, not just reading about it.

Who's behind it

I got into the Ion right when it first came out. My actual first marker was a Spyder Imagine, but what I really wanted was a Planet Eclipse Ego — my "space gun." I couldn't afford a brand new one at the time, so I saved up until I could get a 2006 Dust Gunmetal Gray Ego. In the meantime, I picked up an Ion, and it ended up being one of my favorite markers from that era — affordable, and about as good an entry-level tournament marker as you could ask for.

I stepped away from paintball in 2009 to finish college and focus on building a career, which has included everything from QA/game testing to running my own professional detailing business — the kind of hands-on, detail-obsessed work that translates pretty directly into taking a marker apart and getting every o-ring and surface right. I didn't pick paintball back up until spring 2025, and the second I did, I thought about all the markers I used to run. I'd held onto my original Ion the whole time, and getting back into the sport made me want to bring more Ions back into the field — I've been slowly picking them up from wherever I can find them ever since.

The hope with this site, and with restoring these markers generally, is twofold: for players from the early 2000s to come back, relive some of that nostalgia, and have fun running an Ion again — and for newer players to see where the marker actually came from. If you want the full story, there's a History of the Ion page.

Restoration & services

Beyond the free guides, restoration work, builds for sale, and buying markers are all things I do directly — see Services for details.

Support the project

Everything here stays free, and always will. If ReIonized has saved you time or helped with a build, tips are appreciated but never expected — Ko-fi is the easiest way, or PayPal if you'd rather:

Elsewhere

Video walkthroughs for a lot of what's covered here are on YouTube at @denzilv — the channel covers more than just Ion content, so look for the dedicated Ion playlist if that's specifically what you're after. Curious what's planned next? There's a public Trello roadmap — no dates, just what's on deck.