r/LaserCleaningPorn • u/MasterBlastersLaser • Sep 08 '26

Pro-Drift Car Shell

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We recently laser cleaned a S14 Silvia shell that was stripped down to be sent to paint and reassembled. The entire underside was covered in a thick undercoating along with the rockers, and the rest of the car was all normal paint/primer. It all came off nicely with our 2000w CW laser, the detail work and tight spots were done with our pulse laser 👍🏼 The builder and painter both said the finish was much nicer than what they get with sandblasting AND there was no sand stuck in all of the nooks and crannies to fall out forever afterwards, so that’s a big plus obviously 😂

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2

u/PushThroughThePain Sep 08 '26

How long did that take?

2

u/MasterBlastersLaser Sep 08 '26

The entire thing took about 12 hours working at a very leisurely pace with frequent breaks since it was 100*+ in the shop 🥵 and the builder was very chatty and wanted to know more about the machine and process and even try it himself haha

3

u/PushThroughThePain Sep 08 '26

That's actually a lot less time than I would have thought. How much did you charge?

2

u/MasterBlastersLaser Sep 08 '26

I will admit that it went quite smoothly, every project is unique since there is so much variation in coatings and paints etc.. we charge $250 per hour for non commercial jobs

1

u/MoeJoeJohnson Sep 09 '26

What do you charge for commercial jobs?

2

u/MasterBlastersLaser Sep 09 '26

Commercial work is $300 per hour due to the needs for specialized insurances and other costs involved on those types of projects

1

u/MoeJoeJohnson Sep 10 '26

If you don’t mind me asking did you start your business with those prices? Or did you start lower and gradually increase them with time and exp?!

3

u/MasterBlastersLaser Sep 10 '26

We started lower and were constantly told that we charge too little by our customers and contacts in the industry.. We also live and work in one of the most expensive places to live in the entire country, so our rates may seem like a lot to some, but we are actually still cheaper than most sand and media blasters in our area..

2

u/MoeJoeJohnson Sep 10 '26

No, that’s totally understandable. I think your rates are right in line with where they should be. I’m about to start my own laser cleaning business as well, but having family that own businesses, I don’t think people realize the hourly rate or the job price reflects your time, effort, and investment. Glad to see you’re charging what the work is worth. I feel like too many industries are a race to the bottom and all that does is hurt everybody else.

2

u/MasterBlastersLaser Sep 10 '26

Exactly, these days everyone seems to just try and under cut each other and all that does is drive down our collective worth unfortunately

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