FAQ.

For North Shore postcodes — Artarmon, Chatswood, Willoughby, Lane Cove, St Leonards and surrounds — the mobile van is usually available within the same week, often within a couple of days. A phone call with a clear scope gets the fastest response.

Yes. Jobs of any size are welcome — a single panel, a single part, a single chassis section, all worth the visit. The minimum is the mobile half-day rate, which covers travel, set-up, the work itself and pack-down.

We come to you. META LASER SYSTEMS is mobile-only — the van is the workshop. Parts stay on your premises.

Why it matters: no transport risk, no insurance handoff for the customer, no chain-of-custody paperwork for prestige work. The job starts and finishes in your bay.

No travel charge applies inside the following North Shore postcodes:

• Artarmon NSW 2064
• Chatswood NSW 2067
• Willoughby NSW 2068
• Lane Cove NSW 2066
• St Leonards NSW 2065
• Northbridge NSW 2063
• Crows Nest NSW 2065
• Roseville NSW 2069

Outside these postcodes, additional travel may apply — discussed and agreed before the visit is scheduled.

Four steps, about 60–90 minutes on site:

1. Phone call — you describe the workshop, the part, and a suitable time.
2. On arrival — site walkthrough, pre-start checklist, exclusion zone with signage, PPE fitted.
3. Test passes — controlled laser passes on your actual material. Photographic before-and-after captured.
4. Discussion — honest commentary on suitability. If a follow-on job is sensible, we discuss scope and rate. If it's not, you have lost nothing.

You receive a copy of the assessment record at the end of the visit.

Common laser cleaning applications include:

• Rust and oxidation removal on steel — panels, chassis sections, brackets, parts
• Paint, primer, lacquer and coating removal — including underseal, schutz, tar
• Graffiti and paint removal from stone, brick, concrete and heritage substrates
• Surface preparation for welding or recoating
• Restoration-focused work on automotive, architectural and decorative substrates

Suitability depends on the contaminant, the substrate and the finish required. That's why the free assessment runs against your actual material.

The MCW1500 3-in-1 system welds carbon steel, stainless steel, galvanised sheet, aluminium, brass and copper up to approximately 4 mm. Welding speed ranges from 0–120 mm/s depending on material and weld geometry.

The system uses argon shielding gas. Wire feeder is available where filler welding is required.

Generally yes — that's where laser cleaning is at its strongest. Pulsed laser cleaning interacts with the contaminant layer at lower energy than the underlying substrate, so the contaminant lifts off while the metal underneath stays intact.

That means no thinning, no pitting, no warping — critical when you're matching original gauge for a respray or working on irreplaceable parts. Maker's stamps, casting numbers, decorative detail and original surface profile all stay legible.

Honest limit: heavy structural rust that has eaten through the metal still needs cutting out and welding in fresh material. Laser doesn't restore missing metal. It gives you back the substrate you want to weld, prime or paint, in the condition you found it underneath the contaminant.

Yes — that is one of the strongest arguments for laser over media blasting on restoration work. Abrasive media rounds off stamped lettering and softens casting detail; laser cleaning leaves them legible.

The plane-blade restoration on our Our Work page shows this directly — the original maker's stamps are clearly visible in the after-shots.

No. The laser is a non-contact process. There is no abrasive media (no sand, grit, soda, dry ice, walnut shell), no solvent, no chemical stripper. The contaminant is vaporised and captured by fume extraction; the substrate stays as you found it.

Practical implication for a workshop: no media to vacuum out of door cavities, no chemical run-off on the floor, no masking required to protect adjacent areas.

Pricing depends on scope, material and access — not a published rate card. The shape of the offer is consistent:

• Free on-site assessment at your workshop — no obligation
• Mobile half-day minimum on engaged jobs
• No travel charge inside North Shore postcodes
• Repeat-work discount for second and subsequent engagements

Specific dollar figures are discussed by phone or in person, not published on the site. Call 1800 638 282 or 0402 382 858.

No deposit for the free on-site assessment. For engaged jobs, terms are agreed by phone before work commences.

That's exactly what the free assessment is designed to find out. If the result isn't a fit, you've lost nothing — no obligation, no commercial commitment.

The operator will tell you on the spot if a grinder, abrasive wheel or alternative method is the right tool for your job, rather than push laser into a poor fit.

Two machines in the van, covering a 300W to 1500W operating envelope:

• META MPW300 — portable pulsed laser cleaner. 300 W average power, 1.5 mJ pulse energy, air-cooled, single-phase. Best fit for detail-sensitive work, finish-critical surfaces, classic restoration parts.
• META MCW1500 3-in-1 — handheld chassis with swappable heads for welding, cleaning and cutting. 1500 W continuous, M² beam quality < 1.2, air-cooled, 220V single-phase, ≤4 kW draw.

See About for full equipment specs.

Founder-operated. Adam Smith (META PR PTY LTD) operates the equipment on every job. There is no agent margin, no third-party operator hand-off, no subcontractor chain. You get a direct technical conversation with the person doing the work.

Service work is the focus. Equipment supply is available where a workshop or fabricator is planning their own in-house capability, but the primary offer is mobile field service — we bring the kit to your premises.

Yes — fully insured for mobile commercial operation. Certificate of currency available on request for commercial customers or facility managers who need it for their records.

Yes. Every job comes with the appropriate documentation pack: SWMS for the specific activity (cleaning, welding or cutting), JSA for the specific site, pre-start checklist, and a Hot Work Permit where welding or cutting is performed on customer premises.

Documentation is project-specific — not generic boilerplate. See the WHS page for the full framework.

Yes, under controlled conditions. The laser is Class 4 — direct or reflected beam can cause permanent eye damage — so a controlled exclusion zone with Class 4 hazard signage is established before any work begins. Anyone inside the zone must wear OD 5+ laser-rated eyewear matched to the 1064 nm wavelength.

Spare laser-rated goggles are carried in the van for observers. If suitable PPE cannot be provided for everyone in the work area, no observers are permitted inside the zone.

Laser cleaning is much quieter than sandblasting, grinding or wire-brushing. There's a soft crackle as the contaminant ablates plus the sound of the extraction unit — typically lower than a power tool. Cutting is noisier than cleaning due to the assist-gas jet; hearing protection is worn for cutting work.

Not quite dust-free, but dramatically cleaner than abrasive blasting. The laser vaporises the contaminant into fine particulate which is captured by extraction at the work point. There's no rebound media to clean up, no overspray, no grit in your door cavities or A-pillars. Your workshop floor stays as you left it.