Analysis of the Surface Geometric Structure after Laser Cleaning of Paint Coatings

Abstract. Numerous research centers all over the world are being involved in the studies of laser surface modification. By controlling laser parameters such as the amount of power, scanning speed, and pulse duration, it is possible to form coatings with different surface properties, including surface geometry, microhardness, stress states, or resistance to wear. The paper analyzes the influence of selected parameters of laser processing on the removal of paint coatings used for the purpose of special use of armaments and military equipment. By controlling the laser processing parameters, i.e., power density, feed rate, pulse frequency, and duration, the best processing conditions were selected at which masking coatings were removed. In order to clean the surface, laboratory tests were carried out to remove the paint coating using the surface layer cleaning technique using a picosecond laser TruMicro 5325c with UV radiation (343 nm). As part of the research, measurements of the surface geometric structure, hardness, and adhesion, as well as observations of the microstructure, were made.