A process for secondary descaling of running metal strips, especially made of steel, during hot-rolling by-spraying water onto the surface of the running metal strips with spray rails having nozzles supplied with pressurized water, wherein the nozzles are supplied at a hydraulic pressure of from 3 to 30 bar, and wherein the nozzles are regulated so that heat flux density extracted from the strip (HF) resulting from the cooling of its surface by the sprayed water is between 6.5 and 20 MW/m2 for a strip temperature between 900 and 1100° C.