Reduction of surface defects during finish rolling of hot strip

A finishing train for finish rolling hot strip, comprising:

• a plurality of roll stands, the roll stands each having a lower and an upper working roll and the working rolls each form a roll gap, the hot strip configured to pass through the roll gaps in a transport direction during finish rolling;
• a plurality of cooling nozzles arranged below a pass line, the cooling nozzles configured to spray a liquid cooling medium onto a lateral surface during the finish rolling to cool at least one exit-side region of the lateral surface of the lower working roll of the last roll stand in the transport direction;
• at least one stripper arranged vertically between the cooling nozzles and the hot strip, the at least one stripper configured to keep the cooling medium away from the hot strip, the at least one stripper being secured on an exit table;
• at least one lifting roller in the transport direction which is arranged in a width direction of the hot strip, is arranged between the working rolls of the last roll stand and a cooling section for cooling the finish-rolled hot strip, the lifting roller configured to lift the hot strip in a vertical direction above the pass line during the finish rolling, so that an underside of the hot strip does not touch the exit table;
• and
• at least one cleaning nozzle configured to clean an upper side of the exit table to remove at least one of scale and rolling dust.