Development of a water-jet assisted laser paint removal process

•A water-jet assisted laser paint removal process has been demonstrated.•Its performance compared with that of gas-assisted laser paint removal process.•This can remove paint completely without a trace of residual ash.•However, process efficiency is slightly reduced due to laser beam scattering in water-jet. The laser paint removal process usually leaves behind traces of combustion product i.e. ashes on the surface. An additional post-processing such as light-brushing or wiping by some mechanical means is required to remove the residual ash. In order to strip out the paint completely from the surface in a single step, a water-jet assisted laser paint removal process has been investigated. The 1.07μm wavelength of Yb-fiber laser radiation has low absorption in water; therefore a high power fiber laser was used in the experiment. The laser beam was delivered on the paint-surface along with a water jet to remove the paint and residual ashes effectively. The specific energy, defined as the laser energy required removing a unit volume of paint was found to be marginally more than that for the gas-jet assisted laser paint removal process. However, complete paint removal was achieved with the water-jet assist only. The relatively higher specific energy in case of water-jet assist is mainly due to the scattering of laser beam in the turbulent flow of water-jet.