There are many commercially available masking materials for powder coated parts.

Masking is a very important step in the powder coatings process. It is labor intensive and expensive. The type of masking material and its properties will be important to the effectiveness of the mask and its impact on production efficiency.

There are many commercially available masking materials for and powder coated parts. Tapes, plugs, caps and steel fixtures can be used. These cost and benefit issues are considered to determine the best possible way to mask a part:

• the cost per mask
• the number of times it can be reused
• the effectiveness of the mask
• the ease of application and removal
• ability to leave a clean parting line between the mask edge and the coating
• the need to be stripped and the frequency
• the temperature resistance of the mask material
• the ease of removal of adhesive backing

Keep in mind that any mask that is used must be efficient to apply and remove, it must be effective at keeping the coating from the target surface, it must stand up to the rigors of the process, and it must be cost effective.