SURFACE PREPARATION BY FLASHBLASTING

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe ability of high intensity radiation to clean and divest surface coatings has wide commercial and industrial importance. Using the experience of personnel who pioneered the role of lasers in material cleaning and art conservation, Maxwell Laboratories, Inc., has developed a new surface preparation technology that employs the radiative output of bright xenon gas filled lamps. Such broad band radiation effectively strips and removes select surface layers while maintaining the integrity of the base substrate. This paper presents a general account of the present methodology and applications of flash cleaning systems. After a brief introduction, the components and operation of such machines and the characteristics of the emitted radiation will be described. An overview of three applications of interest to the surface preparation community follow. These are, respectively, the select removal of paint coatings from metal substrates, the conversion of rust to magnetite as a surface stabilization procedure prior to painting, and the use of citric acid solutions in conjunction with flash treatments to remove rust and corrosion from steel leaving a bare metal surface. After enumeration of the many advantages offered by light cleaning, the future outlook of this growingly important technology concludes the paper.