Brass Laser Cleaning
Brass hardware and fixtures can shed tarnish and old lacquer with a dry laser pass when energy stays on the soil and zinc is not driven out of the surface. Acid dips are the usual...
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Yi-Chun LinPh.D.Taiwan
Materials characterization for industrial surfacesPublished
Apr 29, 2026
Antique Cash Register Finish Laser Cleaning
An antique cash register finish is restored when later dirt comes off and the factory color stays. A full strip to bare brass misses that stop. Heritage architectural cleaning treats the original coat as the layer that remains.
What This Video Shows
Short 9xuN5gDFC4Y shows pulsed laser lifting paint, rust, and grime from an antique cash register finish without abrasive scrubbing of brass detail.
Brass, iron, and wood on one register
Related Contaminants
Clear Atmospheric Rust Without Cooking the Steel
Iron oxide rust is removed from [steel](/materials/steel-laser-cleaning) at **0.1–0.5 J/cm²**, well under the **8–15 J/cm²** where the base metal starts to take damage, so a coupon cut from the actual part, not the color of the rust or any [mill scale](/contaminants/mill-scale-magnetite-laser-cleaning) under it, should set the energy.
Hard Coatings Laser Cleaning
Stripping a PVD or CVD hard coating from tool steel is a narrow band, since about 2–4 J/cm² removes the coating while 8–12 J/cm² injures the host steel. Bay Area tool remanufacturers should treat a glossy flank face as a screening test only, because recoating contracts need a chemical strip-complete criterion.
Laser Cleaning Paint Coatings Without Hurting the Surface
Paint coatings come off [stucco](/materials/stucco-laser-cleaning) at 0.5–2 J/cm², while the stucco itself is injured at 8–14 J/cm², so a setting that removes paint has to stay near the low end of that range. The same logic runs through [laser paint coating removal](/applications/laser-paint-coating-removal-bay-area) on any host.
Copper Patina Laser Cleaning
Copper patina lets go of the copper beneath it at **0.3–1.5 J/cm²**, while the bare metal itself starts to suffer injury at **1.5–4 J/cm²**, so the working range for lifting the patina sits just below where the substrate is harmed.
Fire Char Weathering Laser Cleaning
Fire char weathering lifts from walnut at **1.0–3.0 J/cm²** but the wood is injured at **2.0–5.0 J/cm²**, so a laser pass only works when a test patch finds that gap first. Dust extraction stays running because the pass puts carbon-rich particulate in the air.
Pipe Flange Gasket Residue Laser Cleaning
Rubber gasket residue on a [steel](/materials/steel-laser-cleaning) pipe flange lifts at **1–3 J/cm²**, while **8–15 J/cm²** begins to injure the steel itself, so the pass stays at the low end of that gap.
