Abstract
The surface discoloration due to laser cleaning was investigated for a historical Gotland sandstone. The difference in discoloration for cleaning performed in air and in the shielding environment of N2 flowing at low velocities was studied by means of colorimetry and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques. For ablative removal of the natural as well as artificially applied encrustation a pulsed 1064-nm laser operated at a fluence of 0.5 J/cm2 was applied. It was observed that the natural colour variations (ΔL*=21; Δb*=23) of the stone can completely screen the laser-induced changes. Under conditions of shielding with nitrogen, darkening and yellowing slightly stronger than those occurring in the ambient air were revealed for the laser-cleaned, artificially crusted samples and the effect was independent of the gas-flow velocity. The observed difference confirmed the contribution of iron oxidation to the laser-induced yellowing and showed that the presence of oxygen in the ambient air affects favourably the cleaning by supporting removal of a variety of combustible surface remnants and crust components of organic as well as inorganic origin.
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