Laser paint removal Project

[me3456]

I would like to remove a thin layer of dried paint from small copper figurines.
(The copper is very porous and the figurines have crevices).
I would like to try using a laser for removing the dried paint.
I know nothing about lasers and would appreciate any advice on what type and power of laser to buy/and build.

Thank you
steven

 

[Cyparagon]

Use acetone - cheaper, simpler, faster, safer.

 

[me3456]

The laser is for what i have been unable to get out of the pores and crevices after chemical paint remover.
thanks

 

[Ibuprofen200mg]

Yep Cyparagon is right, no need for a laser here (I doubt it would even work). If you can't get pure acetone, fingernail polish remover would likely work as it is mostly acetone anyway. Also xylene or vm&p naptha or similar paint thinner should do the trick as long as you allow the copper to soak in the solvent for a while. Don't worry about hurting the copper, it's pretty hearty.

EDIT: if it is not coming out of the cracks you could try submersing it in a hot bath of sodium hydroxide/ water. EXTREME caution need be taken though as NaOH is nasty stuff.

 

[Isoleucine]

From a chemical point of view, such chemicals as those listed above would would as a solvent for dissolving your paint. If you dont know by now, paints work by starting off with a dye or some other colored 'base' (not base as in acid-base) and water or a hydrocarbon based drying agent. When the paint is set outside, the drying agents vaporize away, leaving the dyes and residues to color your object.

Paint thinners thin the paint by reapplying the dyes and paint residues from your object, thus, dissolving them and turning them back into solution. Acetone has a similar configuration compared to paint thinners, so they should work.