Patent ID: 7879936

Claim:
A method of temporarily protecting a surface in a coating operation, said method comprising: a) applying a masking material to said surface, said applying resulting in a substantially continuous film of said masking material, said masking material, before drying, comprising an aqueous solution of: i) a thixotropic thickener present in an amount ranging from about 0.15 to about 5 weight percent active ingredient wherein said thixotropic thickener comprises an agent selected from the group consisting of a crosslinked acrylate copolymer, a crosslinked polyacrylic acid, a polymethacrylic acid, and an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer; and ii) a pH control to adjust pH of said masking material from about pH 7.5 to about pH 9.5, wherein said masking material does not contain additional film formers; b) coating all or a portion of said surface with an overcoating compound, said masking material preventing said coating compound from contacting said surface; and c) removing said masking material from said surface whereby the coating compound applied to the surface covered with the masking material is removed together with the masking material.