Cleaning and surface preparation: which lasers for which applications? Available to Purchase

Conventional processes for cleaning, stripping and surface preparation mainly use solvents or abrasives which can be harmful for the environment, and can also damage the surface of the material. Moreover, the use of these products generates a large quantity of waste that needs to be reprocessed or discarded. In many cases, laser is the solution to these problems. Its possibilities are still under‐exploited but they are growing with the improvement of the performances of the CO₂, YAG and Excimer lasers. This paper describes the laser cleaning process and the benefits which can be obtained.