Optimized laser cleaning of metal artworks–evaluation of determinants

Pulsed and continuous wave lasers, which are widely applied in diverse micromachining industrial processing, could be used in the cleaning of historic objects. However, many issues concerning the interaction between lasers and historical metals are not yet resolved and the application of lasers in metal conservation is not universally accepted. As a substantial part of a broader project, this paper presents the preliminary evaluation of critical process issues, including diagnostics of corrosion layers, their ablation thresholds as well as evaluation of the influence of laser radiation parameters (pulse duration, laser fluence) on post-process surface properties.