The goal of this project was to develop a mobile highway paint removing system based on pulsed laser. The concept was to apply a succession of short, intense laser pulses that create destructive shock waves rather than heating paint to the point where chemical reactions occur. The product’s impact will be (a) the elimination of the usual environmental contaminants such as grit, dust, smoke, and chemicals; (b) prevention of damage to pavement during paint removal; and (c) complete removal for compliance with federal codes that require no visible trace of temporary markings on newly constructed roadways. Work in the initial phase of the project established the feasibility of using a laser to remove markings from highway materials. A prototype portable laser was developed for removal of paint from the pavement of highways, parking lots, and airfield runways. The removal was clean, but not fast. Several methods that would possibly speed the removal were defined and investigated. The dominant variables were power density (watts/cm2) and pulse duration. Work then focused on selecting and testing a laser that could be used to demonstrate removal of markings in field conditions. The laser needed to meet certain specifications and still remove a painted stripe as rapidly as possible (hopefully at a rate that is competitive with sandblasting). The requirements included reliability in a highway environment (flash lamps easy to change, realignment not necessary, etc.), optimum pulse energy density, pulse duration and wavelength, and, most important, maximum average power for the size and cost of the laser. Consequently a new more powerful system was designed.