Descaling of slabs exiting reheat furnaces prior to hot rolling is an important step to improve surface quality in the steelmaking process. An induction heating system with a controlled atmosphere that replicates the combustion atmosphere in a commercial slab reheat furnace was used to oxidize high-Si, Mn and medium-C steels. High-pressure water jet descaling was performed following scale formation using a laboratory setup that mimicked the industrial descaling process. Effects of nozzle impact factor (N/mm2) on scale removability for the different steels were investigated. The critical values of impact factor required for scale removal are discussed.