Patent ID: 7805822

Claim:
A process for removing a thermal barrier ceramic coating from a cooling hole of a component comprising: drilling cooling holes into the component after a bond coat application and prior to a thermal barrier ceramic coating application; coating the component containing the cooling holes with the thermal barrier ceramic coating; directing an air jet at a side of the component, opposing a surface having the thermal barrier ceramic coating, the jet containing a non-abrasive spherical particulate media and emitting the media from a nozzle of the jet at a low pressure wherein said low pressure is insufficient for the media to damage a substrate but said low pressure is sufficient for the media to remove the thermal barrier ceramic coating from the cooling hole; and wherein a bond coating is interposed between the thermal barrier ceramic coating and the substrate; and wherein the pressure of the air jet is from about 20 to 100 PSIG and wherein continuous media filtration and spherical particle separation are provided during the process.