The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Laser Rust Removal

Hello, has anyone tried rust removal with laser guns? I get advertisements about thus from CAD4000 to 12,000. I am thinking to get professional blasting equipment and rent a compressor, but this laser setup seems to be so much cleaner.

Lots of video's on laser rust removal. They seem to work really good on heavy iron but I have not seem sheet metal cleaned yet. One would have to price one out, then figure how much electricity it's going to take to run it all day. It would be nice to have one, no sand to clean up. Keith Rucker has a few video's out with his new laser - Laser cleaning

27 years ago, when I first started on my truck, I rented a big air compressor and pressure blaster to clean the sheet metal and frame. It went OK, of course it was wet and misting all day so I had to rig up a tent asap. I cleaned up sand for weeks after, and managed to warp some sheet metal. I have a small 50 lb pressure blaster I use for cylinder heads, blocks, and other engine pieces. I would not want to do a frame or cab. The good media is expensive, and cheaper coal slag is way to course for fine metal. For iron and heavy steel, the coal slag is great. No matter what type of media you use, it's hot and dirty work, and not all that great for your lungs.

Sure would be a lot less clean up with a laser.

My thought is for axles, heavy stuff & corners of the cab etc. that are hard to get into. Large areas are easy with sanding. Nicks & crannies are the problem. Do I spend $5-8,000 on blasting equipment and have the medium everywhere or go laser?

You could always farm that out to a local blaster that’s done truck body's and frames. It would be allot cheaper than buying the equipment and you’ll have no mess. An experienced blaster will not warp your sheet metal. If you go that route, get some recommendations from locals.

There are some videos from Halffass customs from Winnipeg on taking the rust off as well as Carter autorestyling from Maymont Saskatchewan who just recieved one to test out on his Channel .

What Phil said about hiring a professional blaster. That's what I did. He came to my house, set up a tent and blasted my cab, which I had on a rotisserie. It did take him all day, but when he was gone, he had cleaned everything up, except for a tiny bit of sand that was in some of the nooks and crannies of the cab. I was able to shoot primer on the cab shortly afterwards. It was a little pricey $1200 IIRC, but worth it. I had him do the frame and a bunch of other stuff at his lot as well. His rig is mounted on a trailer and he has supplied air protection.

A friend bought a laser rust removal setup, but I have not seen it work yet. They had a first hand demonstration before they bought it. I think it was way more than what I paid the blaster, I'm recalling over $10k.