alternative to sand blasting

[3_puppies]

I was at a get together at one of Esther's friends and the guy who is a hotrod builder was showing me his shop.
He recently got a laser type device and it removes all impurities from metal It just vaporizes it, rust, paint, grime it just removes it all.
I asked if it left a pile of ash, he said not really, it can stink tho.
he showed me a cast iron fry pan where he did half of it and it was night and day difference.
he said it will remove paint from a beer can
the one he has runs on 220V

 

[AirheadNut]

We got one of those as a demo at work a few months ago, it was a 300W machine and worked great for removing rust and scale from steel and for cleaning up the soot from MIG welds on aluminum. Just last week I unboxed a 2000W machine that will be used for the first stage of cleaning on all our weldments in preparation for powder coating. It will be followed by a couple of stages of chemical wash, no media blasting necessary.

 

[REZARF]

Sounds expensive.

 

[AirheadNut]

Sounds expensive.

Definitely not cheap! Got it installed and running in our new facility today, they ran the first few parts through the powder coating process and it is working really well. The laser not only removes rust, paint, powder coat but it also takes off the hard scale left on laser cut steel parts.

 

[REZARF]

Definitely not cheap! Got it installed and running in our new facility today, they ran the first few parts through the powder coating process and it is working really well. The laser not only removes rust, paint, powder coat but it also takes off the hard scale left on laser cut steel parts.
View attachment 4218689

whoa, every rent that thing out?

 

[AirheadNut]

whoa, every rent that thing out?

I wish, I'd be using it all the time! Definitely a tool that would be very handy for restoration and repair work. 2000W is probably overkill for most stuff one would normally need to do, it cleaned heavy rust and scale right off running at 75%, running higher power mostly speeds up the process.

 

[3_puppies]

240 volt?

 

[AirheadNut]

240 volt?

Yes, 240V/50A hookup. Requires compressed air also.

 

[mccracken]

Is there any practical use for lasers on larger frame rust jobs or is that just to big of a job? Maybe some skynet size device in the future you just drive onto and it zaps it all in an hour like a car wash? I know it's not lasers but what do we think about dry ice treatments? Saw we have a guy in our area now. Dry Ice Blasting Bozeman MT - Automotive, Industrial, Commercial - https://northerniceblasting.com/

 

[jv0099]

I am pretty impressed by the videos I see on youtube about the laser rust removal.
Here's a guy using it on a frame.

 

[AirheadNut]

Is there any practical use for lasers on larger frame rust jobs or is that just to big of a job? Maybe some skynet size device in the future you just drive onto and it zaps it all in an hour like a car wash? I know it's not lasers but what do we think about dry ice treatments? Saw we have a guy in our area now. Dry Ice Blasting Bozeman MT - Automotive, Industrial, Commercial - https://northerniceblasting.com/

Absolutely. The one we've got does a swath up to 150mm wide (5.9") and at closer range burns off rust in very short order. It is especially good at getting in small crevices and cracks. Next time I get the chance I'll see if I can grab a video of it working.

 

[mccracken]

Absolutely. The one we've got does a swath up to 150mm wide (5.9") and at closer range burns off rust in very short order. It is especially good at getting in small crevices and cracks. Next time I get the chance I'll see if I can grab a video of it working.

Let us know when the land cruiser spa day package is available. I need some laser rust removal haha