Removal of coating

There are a lot of different sort of coatings, from non-sticky coatings to simple primers. One thing they have in common is that the removal of old coatings can be very difficult. That’s what they’re made for anyways, to not be removed. Depending on the sort of coating, agressive cleaning techniques such as sandblasting and pyrolysis are often used to remove the layer of coating. Especially anti-wear coatings are highly resistant against these sorts of cleaning techniques, taking a lot of time to get everything off and also: causing a lot of wear on the parts that are being cleaned.

Some release coatings can start to pile up in molds, making cleaning necessary. Laser cleaning is ideal for the removal of this sort of release coating because the laser beam is able to reach every thin edge and shape of the mold, without wearing down the thin contours of the mold. Only the coating gets removed, almost up to an atomic level, without removing anything from the mold itself. It’s obvious that a longer life of your mold will be the result!

What also exists, are anti-slip coatings used on stairs, walking surfaces, etc. After some time the wear starts to come through and replacement is necessary. These coatings often have a dark color, which makes them very suitable for laser cleaning. As long as the coating layer isn’t thicker as 2 mm, you can just go over it with the laser gun and after a few quick cleanings over it, the layer is completely removed. You can even choose your settings so that the laser beam does have an effect on the layer on top, but not on an underlying layer if present. Couldn’t be easier than that! And you also don’t have to shield the entire environment for sand or dust flying around. Did we already mention that a laser cleaning machine is child’s play? We’ll give you a short training on laser safety and after that, you can get started yourself.

Overview of coatings suitable for laser cleaning:

• Anti-slip coating
• UV coating
• Waterproof coating
• Release agent
• Teflon coating
• EPDM coating
• Plastic coating
• Metal coating
• Antistatic coating
• Color coatings and primers
• etc.

Give us a call when you aren’t sure whether your coating is suitable for laser cleaning or not!