Rust and corrosion

Rust removal with laser, at your own site

Corrosion and mill scale come off the steel while the part stays exactly where it stands. No blasting cabin, no transport, no waiting.

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Steel, cast iron and stainless1 to 15 m² per hourOn site across the Netherlands
What happens

The oxide layer vaporises, the steel stays.

Rust absorbs the light of the laser far more strongly than the bare steel underneath. The layer heats up in short pulses and leaves as vapour and fine particles, which are extracted at the work point. The steel barely picks up that energy, so the shape and the dimensions of the part stay as they are.

That is exactly the difference with blasting. Grit takes the rust off by damaging the surface, and on a mating face, a bearing seat or a thin wall that is often not what you want. The laser works selectively: we set it to the layer that has to go and it stops at the metal.

  • Surface rust and early corrosion on structural steel
  • Pitting and ingrained spots on older parts
  • Mill scale and oxide skin after hot working
  • Salt corrosion in shipping and offshore
  • Flash rust on stainless steel
Structural steel beam after rust removal with laser, bare metal with sharp edges
Structural steel after surface rust and old primer were taken off. The surface is dry and dust free and can be coated straight away.
Approach

How we lay out a rust job.

Step 01

Assessing the layer

Your photo already tells us a lot: how thick, how old, and whether there is still a coating over it.

Step 02

Test patch

We clean a small patch and set the laser to your material. You see the result before we carry on.

Step 03

Cleaning in passes

Pass by pass, with extraction at the source and a screened zone around it.

Step 04

Straight on

The surface is dry and dust free, so your coating can go on immediately.

Vergelijking

Taking rust off: blasting or laser.

Grit blasting

  • Roughens the surface, including where it must not
  • Part usually comes loose and goes to the cabin
  • Grit, screening and disposal
  • Dust in the surroundings and on the installation
  • Fast on large, rough surfaces

Laser cleaning

  • Takes the layer off, leaves the profile intact
  • On site, usually without dismantling
  • No abrasive to dispose of
  • Extraction at the work point
  • Strong on mating faces, seams and delicate parts

If there are hundreds of square metres of rough steel lying in the open air, blasting is often still faster. We simply say so.

Questions about rust

What customers ask about this.

Does the steel stay undamaged?

At the right setting the oxide layer is vaporised and the steel underneath stays untouched. We set the laser per material and per layer, which is why we always start with a test patch.

Does it also work on pitting corrosion?

The laser takes the oxide out of the pits, but it does not add material back. Where a pit runs deeper than the original wall, the pit stays visible. On your photo we can usually already see whether that is in play.

How many square metres per hour do you manage?

On thin surface rust the pace is high, on thick or ingrained corrosion a good deal lower. In practice 1 to 15 m² per hour. We only give a number after the test.

Can it be coated again straight afterwards?

Yes, the surface is dry and dust free. Do plan the new layer soon after cleaning, because bare steel starts to turn again quickly in a damp environment.

Request

Show us your rust.

One photo is enough. You get an answer to the question that counts: can this come off with laser, and roughly what does it cost.

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Please choose what needs to come off.

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You will hear within one working day whether laser cleaning solves your problem.

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Coating and paint removalPowder coating, industrial layers and old paint, layer by layer. Mobile laser cleaningWe come to your hall, ship or building site. Before and afterLook at the result first, not at the machine.