Laser as a restorer: old scales and a motorcycle!

You might say that cleaning lasers belong only in industrial plants, but nowadays they are also commonly used in one-off, smaller applications. Saying that a laser cleans everything is slowly becoming an exaggeration. Recently, we at Narran saw this for ourselves when we took on the task of restoring an antique scale and, slowly, a vintage BMW R 80 GS motorcycle.

Anyone who has ever owned at least a moped knows well what its engine looks like after some time of use. Dust, grease and corrosion form a typical layer of stubborn dirt on the individual parts, which cannot be completely removed even with careful mechanical cleaning. The parts of this BMW R 80 GS, the famous heavy enduro from the 1980s that the owner brought to us for restoration, looked similar.

Laser cleaning does not cause any problems typical of mechanical cleaning. The laser beam reaches places even the smallest brush can’t fit; it removes dirt and rust perfectly, without a single uncleaned spot; the object is not damaged as with sanding, sandblasting or the use of aggressive chemicals. The comparison between cleaned and dirty parts speaks for itself.

A pleasant bonus is the reduced physical effort and time saved.

It is also hard to imagine the restoration of these antique scales without a laser. It would be virtually impossible to remove the old paint without damaging the material by any conventional method.