How Laser Surface Cleaning Saves Time, Money, And Materials

What if the fastest way to remove rust, paint, and stains didn’t touch the surface at all? We sit down with Jim Ford, the owner of Bison Laser Cleaning, to unpack how laser surface cleaning delivers precise, eco-friendly results across homes, classic cars, and industrial settings. Jim explains how he dials in power, frequency, and speed so the laser vaporizes coatings while protecting wood grain, thin steel, textured molds, and delicate details that matter to restorers and manufacturers.

You’ll hear clear, real-world scenarios: stripping stain from kitchen cabinets without burn marks, removing rust and undercoating from a chassis without thinning panels, erasing graffiti on brick while preserving the face, and cleaning plastic injection molds in place to maintain texture. Jim breaks down why laser cleaning often beats sandblasting and chemical stripping—no media, less mess, fewer disposal headaches, and a surface that’s ready for primer, welding, or finishing. He also addresses common misconceptions, including fears about substrate damage, and shows how test patches and tuned parameters create predictable, repeatable outcomes.

Beyond the tech, we talk about building a business in a new niche. Jim shares how he uses YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to educate local customers, and why he collaborates with peers worldwide to share best practices and raise industry standards. Whether you’re a homeowner with stained furniture, an auto restorer chasing originality, or a plant manager looking to reduce downtime, you’ll come away with a practical sense of where laser cleaning fits and how it can save time, protect materials, and improve results.

Explore Bison Laser Cleaning online to see demos, before-and-afters, and service options. If you find value in conversations with local pros who bring innovative solutions to everyday problems, follow the show, share it with a neighbor, and leave a quick review to help others discover it.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

SPEAKER_02 (00:11):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of laser surfacecleaning?
Well, one such operation mightbe closer than you think.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Jim Ford.
Jim, how's it going?
Good.
Thank you for inviting me onthis podcast, Nick.
No problem.
Tell us, uh, Jim, what exactlyis bison laser cleaning?

SPEAKER_01 (00:35):
Well, basically, what we do is uh I use a laser
to uh clean surfaces.
It's eco-friendly and it'shighly effective.
The nice thing is about thelaser, it doesn't do any damage
to the substrate.
So I can go in and remove stainfrom wood, not burn the wood.
I can go in and remove rust orpaint from metal, which is

(00:58):
really nice, and not do anydamage or you know, like a
sandblaster or sander wouldactually take part of the metal
off.
I don't do any of that with thelaser, it's uh nice and smooth,
it only takes off what you needto take off.
And how did you get into thisbusiness?
Um, you know, I did a lot ofresearch on a lot of different

(01:21):
companies that I wanted topossibly open.
Um, this was one of the firstones I actually found, and I
didn't want to do the first loveI found, you know, so I kept on
doing a lot of research and Ieventually came back to it.
Um, I like it because it'sinnovative, it's kind of a niche
market, and um, I have a lot offun actually doing it.

SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
What are some myths or misconceptions that exist in
your industry?

SPEAKER_01 (01:52):
Um a misconception is mainly um doing damage to the
substrate.
Um, yes, if I turn up the powerand everything, I could do
damage to the substrate, butafter hours and hours and hours
of testing and working with thesettings on the laser, because
every every substrate, everypaint, every thing that you're

(02:13):
trying to remove, you have tohave different settings.
So with all those hours oftesting and all that, um, we
found different things to workon different different settings
to work on different substratesto make it work out great.

SPEAKER_02 (02:28):
How we know that marketing is the heart of every
business.
How do you market your businessdigitally?

SPEAKER_01 (02:35):
Um, digitally, I do a lot of uh YouTube, Instagram,
Facebook.
I do a lot of emails.
Um, I got a couple of networkinggroups that I go into, and they
have their digital access to getme out there, out there in the
public.
I'm brand new, so I really needto get my name out there, and

(02:58):
also not only being a brand newcompany, but I'm a name brand
new industry, so I really needto kind of teach what I do to
everybody.

SPEAKER_02 (03:08):
And who is your target market?

SPEAKER_01 (03:11):
My target market, that's the nice thing.
Um, I can range everything fromhelping painters strip
furniture, kitchen cabinets, Ican you know get rid of graffiti
on buildings, I can clean updriveways, oil stains on
driveways, I can help automotiverestoration get rid of rust, or
when you're refinishing achassis or body for a car, I can

(03:36):
clean all that up for them sothey can take the next steps.
Um, it's almost endless.
I can do stuff for the oilindustry, I can do stuff for
plastic mold injections.
So my market's pretty big.
Um, that's a nice thing.
But I'm really right now I'mfocusing on automotive
restoration because with my lastname being Ford, I've always had

(03:57):
a love of cars.
Um and the painters.
I actually really, for somereason, removing stain off of uh
furniture and kitchen cabinets,I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
Very interesting.
Uh, have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast?

SPEAKER_01 (04:15):
Um, no, I haven't.
I'm I'm probably not the bestpublic speaker.
Um, but I've working with uhother laser industry guys, pure
tech laser, um, laser squad outof Ogden, Utah, Bermuda Laser,
and a couple other guys fromEurope.
We've we've talked a lot, andyou know, it's one of those

(04:36):
things that we want to teacheverybody how to be successful.
We don't want anybody in ourindustry to kind of make give us
a black eye at the beginning.
We want to kind of be the bestof the best and create our whole
industry and you know, going theright direction.

SPEAKER_02 (04:56):
What are the best ways for people to find basic uh
bison laser cleaning onlineright now?
Uh your website, social mediaaddresses, and uh a phone
number.

SPEAKER_01 (05:07):
So everything I have is bison laser cleaning.
Um, so it'sbiserlasercleaning.com website,
uh, Instagram, Facebook, andYouTube.
It's Bison Laser Cleaning.
Just straight uh those wordsalone.
Um, right now, those are theonly ones I have.
I haven't got reached out toTikTok or anything like that.

SPEAKER_02 (05:30):
So I'm sure that's fine.
Um, so what is the big takeawaythat you want the average person
that finds you um on theinternet and finds this
interview on the internet?
What is the main takeaway thatyou want them to get out of this
interview with bison lasercleaning, Jim?

SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
You know, laser cleaning it's really versatile.
Um we can go places that normalpeople can't go.
We can go into houses and cleanstain off of furniture for
people at their at their homes,but I can also bring stuff back
to the warehouse, clean it upfor them, and turn around and

(06:10):
deliver it to them.
Um everything that we do, we youknow, I can do everything.
I'm sorry, I'm gettingtongue-tied there.
A lot of things that we do, wecan make it cleaner,

(06:32):
effectively, fast, and andagain, without damaging the
substrate.
So there's a lot of things thata lot of people might come
across to across in theirbusiness or personal that they
want to get cleaned up.
It could be anything from a toypedal car to a you know
furniture equipment in theirbackyard or your plastic coating

(06:57):
company that needs the moldinjections cleaned.
I can clean all that.

SPEAKER_02 (07:02):
That's awesome.
Well, Jim, uh, we reallyappreciate you being on our
show, and we definitely wish thebest for bison laser cleaning
moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
I appreciate you having me.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gmpfortcollins.com.
That's gmpfortcollins.com orcall 970 420 0825.