RUST REMOVAL
Rust removal in Brisbane, without grit, water or chemicals
Rust comes off the way it went on: from the surface in, a layer at a time. The laser lifts the oxide and leaves the steel underneath, so what you get back is the metal you started with, dry and ready for primer. Where the scale is heavy and the steel can take it, we blast instead. Either way you get bare, clean metal and a photo of what came off.
What comes off
- Surface rust and pitting corrosion
- Mill scale from new steel
- Heavy scale on old steel and castings
- Oxide on aluminium, brass and bronze
- The oil, grease and old paint that’s usually mixed in with it
What we do it on
- Brackets, fittings, tools and hardware
- Chassis, subframes, wheels and suspension parts
- Cast iron: lace, balustrades, machinery, cookware bases
- Structural steel, plate, gates, fences and railings
- Boat fittings, shafts and props
Rusted through is different from rusty. If the metal is gone, no cleaning method brings it back, and we’ll say so from the photo.
How we do it
For most rust the laser is the right tool. The beam is set for the metal and turned up until it takes the oxide and no further. Nothing hits the surface but light, so there’s no grit in the threads, no water in the seams, and no chemical to neutralise afterwards. Pitting is opened up and cleaned out rather than smeared over.
For heavy scale on thick steel, or where a coating specification calls for a blast profile, abrasive blasting is faster and gives the coating something to key into. We have both and choose from the photo. Small parts come to our workshop on Brisbane’s northside; steel that doesn’t move, we come to.
What you get back
Bare metal with nothing left on it. With the laser, the oil and grease come off in the same pass, so the part comes out dry and can be primed without a separate degrease. Bare steel wants primer soon regardless of how it was cleaned, and we’ll tell you how long you’ve got and can prime it if you want us to.
Every job comes with before and after photos of your part. If you’re a coating contractor or a specifier, you get the method named on the quote so it can go straight into your documentation.
JOBS LIKE THIS
Jobs like this
Cast iron lace and balustrades
Decades of paint and rust off Queensland cast iron without losing the detail. The laser follows the casting; a blaster flattens it.
Chassis and suspension parts
Rust and underseal off a chassis with the running gear still bolted on, or off the bare frame. No media to blow out of every box section afterwards.
Structural steel and railings
Scale and corrosion off steel that’s staying where it is: gates, fences, balustrades, plant. Laser near people and finished surfaces, blasting where the spec wants a profile.
BEFORE YOU RING
Questions people ask
Will the rust come back?
Bare steel starts to oxidise again as soon as it’s exposed to air and moisture, whatever cleaned it. Laser-cleaned steel comes out dry, so it doesn’t flash-rust the way wet-blasted or washed steel can, but it still needs primer or a coating soon after. We can tell you the window and, if you want, put the primer on before it leaves.
Can you get rust out of pitting?
Yes. The beam reaches into pits and cleans them out instead of skating over the top, which is where rust comes back through paint from. What the laser can’t do is put metal back: if the pit has gone through, that’s a repair, not a clean.
Laser or blasting for my job?
The laser for anything with detail, threads, thin sections, alloy, or that has to stay in place and clean. Blasting for heavy scale on robust steel, and for coating specs that call for a measured profile. Send a photo and we’ll tell you which, and why.
Do you come to me or do I bring it in?
Both. Parts and small assemblies come to our workshop on Brisbane’s northside; anything fixed, large or awkward we do on site across South East Queensland. We can organise transport around Brisbane and metro SEQ.
What does rust removal cost?
It depends on the metal, the area and how deep the rust is, so we don’t quote blind. Send a photo and a rough size and Kira will reply with what we’d do and a price or a range, usually the same business day.
THE PROCESS
How the job runs
- 01
Send a photo
A photo and a rough size is enough. We’ll tell you what we’d do and what it involves before anyone drives out.
- 02
Method chosen
Laser, blasting, washing or grinding, depending on the surface and what’s on it.
- 03
Removal
Only the layer that has to go. With the laser, nothing is driven into the surface and nothing is left behind on it.
- 04
Inspection
We check it with you. If a spot isn’t right, we fix it before we leave.
- 05
Handover
The surface ready for the next step, with photos of what came off.
OTHER JOBS
Other jobs we get asked for
Every one of these starts the same way: a photo, a rough size, and a straight answer about what we’d do.
How laser cleaning works →Car paint stripping
Paint, powder coat, underseal and rust off panels, chassis, wheels and castings, with no heat and no grit.
Engine bay cleaning
Paint, grease, rust and old underseal off the bay, the firewall and the block, without pulling the engine.
Antifoul and hull prep
Antifoul, paint, oxide and growth off hulls, keels, shafts, props and fittings, captured rather than left on the hardstand.
Graffiti and masonry cleaning
Paint, soot and biological growth off sandstone, brick, render and concrete, including listed buildings, without chemicals or abrasion.
Pressure washing
Mould, algae, dirt and loose paint off large areas of render, concrete, pavements and cladding.
Concrete grinding
Failed coatings, adhesives and high spots off floors, walls and overhead, with the dust captured at the machine.