Patent ID: 7270593

Claim:
In a blasting system for removing surface coatings, the system including a blasting nozzle from which blasting media is expelled as a high velocity jet, a method of positioning the nozzle at a selected stand-off distance from a surface from which it is desired to remove a coating in order to regulate the velocity of the expelled blasting media as it impacts the coated surface, the method comprising the steps of: determining a selected stand-off distance for a blasting nozzle from a coated surface in accordance with one or more setup parameters including at least pressure; expelling blasting media from the blasting nozzle as a high velocity jet of blasting media; propagating a first light beam from the blasting nozzle or an attachment to the blasting nozzle in a first direction towards the surface to illuminate a first spot on the surface; propagating a second light beam from the blasting nozzle or an attachment to the blasting nozzle in a second direction towards the surface to illuminate a second spot on the surface, the second light beam being non-parallel to the first light beam; and, locating the blasting nozzle at the selected stand-off distance from the surface in which the first and second illuminated spots are aligned, thereby regulating the velocity of the expelled blasting media as it impacts the coated surface.