Paint Cleaning

For applications that require delicate removal of surface coatings without affecting the base material, pulsed fibre lasers are the perfect tool. Laser cleaning can be applied to the surface preparation of various materials including metals , plastics, composites and glass. Coatings such as paint, varnish rust and even traffic film can be cleaned with ease. This is beneficial for the electronics, aerospace and solar energy industries amongst others.

The conventional methods for paint removal involve the use of chemical solvents or abrasive media blasting. These methods can be time-consuming, very harsh on the substrate and involve additional costs such as purchasing the blast media and safe disposal of the solvents after use.

SPI’s G4 70W HS-H laser requires no additional consumables and is virtually maintenance free meaning that operational costs are lower than the alternative. It produces little waste, has low disposal costs and no toxic by-products making the process more environmentally friendly than other methods.

Paint removal requires 2-3 steps to achieve good quality, repeatable results. Firstly, a main pass using long pulse durations and high pulse energy removes the majority of the paint layer. For the second pass, short pulses and high scanning speeds are needed to remove the remaining paint without damaging the substrate. The second pass can be repeated if necessary. Finally, an optional third pass to improve surface quality. This entire process can take <2.3s/cm2.

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