Environmentally sound and safe apparatus for removing coatings

A compact hand held coating remover for removing coatings on a substrate, comprising:

• a housing having a front section with an outlet, a mid section with an inlet, and a rear section;
• an infrared heater disposed within said front section of said housing for emitting heat through said outlet;
• a vacuum source disposed within said mid section of said housing for providing suction through said inlet;
• a view window disposed within said front section at an opposite end from said outlet;
• a light source disposed within said front section between said view window and said outlet at an angle suitable to provide light to an area on said substrate adjacent said outlet;
• a power source disposed within said rear section for supplying power to said infrared heater, said vacuum source, and said light source;
• a control panel having a heat controller for adjusting and controlling said heat emitted from said infrared heater, a vacuum controller for adjusting and controlling said suction provided by said vacuum, and a light controller for controlling and adjusting an intensity of said light source;
• a roller rotatably coupled between said rear section and said substrate and
• a blade located adjacent to said inlet and resiliently coupled to said housing for resiliently urging said blade against said substrate, wherein said blade is moved across said substrate for scraping and removing said coating from said substrate, and wherein said blade is under compression while in contact with said coating of said substrate.