Laser Cleaning Services
Heavy Paint & Coating Removal
Lift old paint, epoxy, powder coat and primer off metal and masonry, one layer at a time, with nothing but light.
Stripping paint by hand is slow, chemical strippers are hazardous, and blasting takes the surface with the paint. Laser coating removal does none of that. The beam breaks the bond between the coating and the substrate, the coating lifts off as fine particulate, and the fume extractor captures it. What is left is the original surface, uncut and ready for a new finish.
Gulf South Laser handles heavy paint removal for fabricators, fleet owners, marine operators and property owners across Metairie, New Orleans and the Gulf South. Because the laser can be dialed in by layer, we can take a failing topcoat off and leave a sound primer, or strip everything back to bare metal, whichever the job calls for.
What we remove
- Alkyd, enamel and industrial topcoats
- Epoxy and polyurethane coatings
- Powder coat
- Primer and shop coat
- Failing marine paint and antifouling residue
- Layered paint on cast iron and architectural metal
Surfaces we work on
- Steel and aluminum structures
- Trailers, truck bodies and equipment frames
- Rims, parts and fabricated assemblies
- Boat hardware and deck fittings
- Brick, stone and concrete (selective removal)
- Iron railings, gates and historic metalwork
Why laser instead of blasting or chemicals
Layer control
Laser settings can be tuned to remove a topcoat and stop at the primer, or go all the way to bare substrate. Blasting cannot do that.
No chemicals
No methylene chloride, no caustic strippers, no neutralizing rinse. Nothing goes down the drain.
Substrate stays sound
Aluminum, thin steel and masonry are not eroded. Dimensions, textures and tooling marks are preserved.
Contained process
The extractor captures the removed coating at the point of work, which matters when the old paint may contain lead or other regulated pigments.
How a job works
- Review the coating, the substrate and the finish you want to end up with.
- A test patch to confirm the laser settings and the look of the stripped surface.
- Full removal, working layer by layer where needed.
- Walkthrough with you, and the surface is ready for the new coating.
Who we serve
Where we work
Mobile service from our Metairie base across the New Orleans metro area and the Gulf South.
Heavy Paint & Coating Removal: frequently asked questions
Can a laser remove powder coat?
Yes. Powder coat and epoxy are both removed with laser cleaning. They are harder coatings and take more passes than enamel, but the result is a clean substrate without the gouging that blasting leaves on aluminum or thin steel.
Can you strip paint off brick or stone?
Laser cleaning can remove paint from brick, stone and concrete, and it is often the only method that does so without eroding the face of the masonry. We always start with a test area on masonry because every brick and stone reacts differently.
What about old lead paint?
Laser removal captures the removed coating in the fume extractor at the point of work rather than spreading it as blast dust. We will discuss containment and disposal for your specific job before we start.
Will laser paint removal warp thin metal?
A pulsed laser puts very little heat into the part compared to grinding or continuous-wave lasers, so warping on thin panels is far less of a concern. The test patch confirms it on your material.
Do you work on site?
Yes. Our mobile unit comes to shops, yards, docks and job sites across the New Orleans metro area.
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Get a quote for heavy paint & coating removal
Send a photo and a rough size and we will quote from it. Most metro-area jobs are scheduled within the week.